SUCH was the funeral that took place during this winter, with which the first year of the war came to an end. In the first days of summer the Lacedaemonians and their allies, with two-thirds of their forces as before, invaded Attica, under the command of Archidamus, son of Zeuxidamus, King of Lacedaemon, and sat down and laid waste the country. Not many days after their arrival in Attica the plague first began to show itself among the Athenians. It was said that it had broken out in many places previously1 in the neighbourhood of Lemnos and elsewhere; but a pestilence2 of such extent and mortality was nowhere remembered. Neither were the physicians at first of any service, ignorant as they were of the proper way to treat it, but they died themselves the most thickly, as they visited the sick most often; nor did any human art succeed any better. Supplications in the temples, divinations, and so forth4 were found equally futile5, till the overwhelming nature of the disaster at last put a stop to them altogether.
It first began, it is said, in the parts of Ethiopia above Egypt, and thence descended7 into Egypt and Libya and into most of the King’s country. Suddenly falling upon Athens, it first attacked the population in Piraeus — which was the occasion of their saying that the Peloponnesians had poisoned the reservoirs, there being as yet no wells there — and afterwards appeared in the upper city, when the deaths became much more frequent. All speculation8 as to its origin and its causes, if causes can be found adequate to produce so great a disturbance9, I leave to other writers, whether lay or professional; for myself, I shall simply set down its nature, and explain the symptoms by which perhaps it may be recognized by the student, if it should ever break out again. This I can the better do, as I had the disease myself, and watched its operation in the case of others.
That year then is admitted to have been otherwise unprecedentedly10 free from sickness; and such few cases as occurred all determined12 in this. As a rule, however, there was no ostensible13 cause; but people in good health were all of a sudden attacked by violent heats in the head, and redness and inflammation in the eyes, the inward parts, such as the throat or tongue, becoming bloody14 and emitting an unnatural15 and fetid breath. These symptoms were followed by sneezing and hoarseness16, after which the pain soon reached the chest, and produced a hard cough. When it fixed17 in the stomach, it upset it; and discharges of bile of every kind named by physicians ensued, accompanied by very great distress18. In most cases also an ineffectual retching followed, producing violent spasms19, which in some cases ceased soon after, in others much later. Externally the body was not very hot to the touch, nor pale in its appearance, but reddish, livid, and breaking out into small pustules and ulcers20. But internally it burned so that the patient could not bear to have on him clothing or linen21 even of the very lightest description; or indeed to be otherwise than stark22 naked. What they would have liked best would have been to throw themselves into cold water; as indeed was done by some of the neglected sick, who plunged23 into the rain-tanks in their agonies of unquenchable thirst; though it made no difference whether they drank little or much. Besides this, the miserable24 feeling of not being able to rest or sleep never ceased to torment25 them. The body meanwhile did not waste away so long as the distemper was at its height, but held out to a marvel26 against its ravages27; so that when they succumbed28, as in most cases, on the seventh or eighth day to the internal inflammation, they had still some strength in them. But if they passed this stage, and the disease descended further into the bowels30, inducing a violent ulceration there accompanied by severe diarrhoea, this brought on a weakness which was generally fatal. For the disorder31 first settled in the head, ran its course from thence through the whole of the body, and, even where it did not prove mortal, it still left its mark on the extremities32; for it settled in the privy33 parts, the fingers and the toes, and many escaped with the loss of these, some too with that of their eyes. Others again were seized with an entire loss of memory on their first recovery, and did not know either themselves or their friends.
But while the nature of the distemper was such as to baffle all description, and its attacks almost too grievous for human nature to endure, it was still in the following circumstance that its difference from all ordinary disorders34 was most clearly shown. All the birds and beasts that prey35 upon human bodies, either abstained36 from touching37 them (though there were many lying unburied), or died after tasting them. In proof of this, it was noticed that birds of this kind actually disappeared; they were not about the bodies, or indeed to be seen at all. But of course the effects which I have mentioned could best be studied in a domestic animal like the dog.
Such then, if we pass over the varieties of particular cases which were many and peculiar38, were the general features of the distemper. Meanwhile the town enjoyed an immunity39 from all the ordinary disorders; or if any case occurred, it ended in this. Some died in neglect, others in the midst of every attention. No remedy was found that could be used as a specific; for what did good in one case, did harm in another. Strong and weak constitutions proved equally incapable40 of resistance, all alike being swept away, although dieted with the utmost precaution. By far the most terrible feature in the malady41 was the dejection which ensued when any one felt himself sickening, for the despair into which they instantly fell took away their power of resistance, and left them a much easier prey to the disorder; besides which, there was the awful spectacle of men dying like sheep, through having caught the infection in nursing each other. This caused the greatest mortality. On the one hand, if they were afraid to visit each other, they perished from neglect; indeed many houses were emptied of their inmates42 for want of a nurse: on the other, if they ventured to do so, death was the consequence. This was especially the case with such as made any pretensions43 to goodness: honour made them unsparing of themselves in their attendance in their friends’ houses, where even the members of the family were at last worn out by the moans of the dying, and succumbed to the force of the disaster. Yet it was with those who had recovered from the disease that the sick and the dying found most compassion44. These knew what it was from experience, and had now no fear for themselves; for the same man was never attacked twice — never at least fatally. And such persons not only received the congratulations of others, but themselves also, in the elation46 of the moment, half entertained the vain hope that they were for the future safe from any disease whatsoever47.
An aggravation48 of the existing calamity49 was the influx50 from the country into the city, and this was especially felt by the new arrivals. As there were no houses to receive them, they had to be lodged51 at the hot season of the year in stifling52 cabins, where the mortality raged without restraint. The bodies of dying men lay one upon another, and half-dead creatures reeled about the streets and gathered round all the fountains in their longing53 for water. The sacred places also in which they had quartered themselves were full of corpses54 of persons that had died there, just as they were; for as the disaster passed all bounds, men, not knowing what was to become of them, became utterly56 careless of everything, whether sacred or profane57. All the burial rites58 before in use were entirely59 upset, and they buried the bodies as best they could. Many from want of the proper appliances, through so many of their friends having died already, had recourse to the most shameless sepultures: sometimes getting the start of those who had raised a pile, they threw their own dead body upon the stranger’s pyre and ignited it; sometimes they tossed the corpse55 which they were carrying on the top of another that was burning, and so went off.
Nor was this the only form of lawless extravagance which owed its origin to the plague. Men now coolly ventured on what they had formerly60 done in a corner, and not just as they pleased, seeing the rapid transitions produced by persons in prosperity suddenly dying and those who before had nothing succeeding to their property. So they resolved to spend quickly and enjoy themselves, regarding their lives and riches as alike things of a day. Perseverance61 in what men called honour was popular with none, it was so uncertain whether they would be spared to attain62 the object; but it was settled that present enjoyment63, and all that contributed to it, was both honourable64 and useful. Fear of gods or law of man there was none to restrain them. As for the first, they judged it to be just the same whether they worshipped them or not, as they saw all alike perishing; and for the last, no one expected to live to be brought to trial for his offences, but each felt that a far severer sentence had been already passed upon them all and hung ever over their heads, and before this fell it was only reasonable to enjoy life a little.
Such was the nature of the calamity, and heavily did it weigh on the Athenians; death raging within the city and devastation65 without. Among other things which they remembered in their distress was, very naturally, the following verse which the old men said had long ago been uttered:
A Dorian war shall come and with it death.
So a dispute arose as to whether dearth66 and not death had not been the word in the verse; but at the present juncture67, it was of course decided68 in favour of the latter; for the people made their recollection fit in with their sufferings. I fancy, however, that if another Dorian war should ever afterwards come upon us, and a dearth should happen to accompany it, the verse will probably be read accordingly. The oracle69 also which had been given to the Lacedaemonians was now remembered by those who knew of it. When the god was asked whether they should go to war, he answered that if they put their might into it, victory would be theirs, and that he would himself be with them. With this oracle events were supposed to tally45. For the plague broke out as soon as the Peloponnesians invaded Attica, and never entering Peloponnese (not at least to an extent worth noticing), committed its worst ravages at Athens, and next to Athens, at the most populous70 of the other towns. Such was the history of the plague.
After ravaging71 the plain, the Peloponnesians advanced into the Paralian region as far as Laurium, where the Athenian silver mines are, and first laid waste the side looking towards Peloponnese, next that which faces Euboea and Andros. But Pericles, who was still general, held the same opinion as in the former invasion, and would not let the Athenians march out against them.
However, while they were still in the plain, and had not yet entered the Paralian land, he had prepared an armament of a hundred ships for Peloponnese, and when all was ready put out to sea. On board the ships he took four thousand Athenian heavy infantry72, and three hundred cavalry73 in horse transports, and then for the first time made out of old galleys74; fifty Chian and Lesbian vessels76 also joining in the expedition. When this Athenian armament put out to sea, they left the Peloponnesians in Attica in the Paralian region. Arriving at Epidaurus in Peloponnese they ravaged77 most of the territory, and even had hopes of taking the town by an assault: in this however they were not successful. Putting out from Epidaurus, they laid waste the territory of Troezen, Halieis, and Hermione, all towns on the coast of Peloponnese, and thence sailing to Prasiai, a maritime78 town in Laconia, ravaged part of its territory, and took and sacked the place itself; after which they returned home, but found the Peloponnesians gone and no longer in Attica.
During the whole time that the Peloponnesians were in Attica and the Athenians on the expedition in their ships, men kept dying of the plague both in the armament and in Athens. Indeed it was actually asserted that the departure of the Peloponnesians was hastened by fear of the disorder; as they heard from deserters that it was in the city, and also could see the burials going on. Yet in this invasion they remained longer than in any other, and ravaged the whole country, for they were about forty days in Attica.
The same summer Hagnon, son of Nicias, and Cleopompus, son of Clinias, the colleagues of Pericles, took the armament of which he had lately made use, and went off upon an expedition against the Chalcidians in the direction of Thrace and Potidaea, which was still under siege. As soon as they arrived, they brought up their engines against Potidaea and tried every means of taking it, but did not succeed either in capturing the city or in doing anything else worthy79 of their preparations. For the plague attacked them here also, and committed such havoc80 as to cripple them completely, even the previously healthy soldiers of the former expedition catching81 the infection from Hagnon’s troops; while Phormio and the sixteen hundred men whom he commanded only escaped by being no longer in the neighbourhood of the Chalcidians. The end of it was that Hagnon returned with his ships to Athens, having lost one thousand and fifty out of four thousand heavy infantry in about forty days; though the soldiers stationed there before remained in the country and carried on the siege of Potidaea.
After the second invasion of the Peloponnesians a change came over the spirit of the Athenians. Their land had now been twice laid waste; and war and pestilence at once pressed heavy upon them. They began to find fault with Pericles, as the author of the war and the cause of all their misfortunes, and became eager to come to terms with Lacedaemon, and actually sent ambassadors thither82, who did not however succeed in their mission. Their despair was now complete and all vented83 itself upon Pericles. When he saw them exasperated84 at the present turn of affairs and acting85 exactly as he had anticipated, he called an assembly, being (it must be remembered) still general, with the double object of restoring confidence and of leading them from these angry feelings to a calmer and more hopeful state of mind. He accordingly came forward and spoke86 as follows:
“I was not unprepared for the indignation of which I have been the object, as I know its causes; and I have called an assembly for the purpose of reminding you upon certain points, and of protesting against your being unreasonably87 irritated with me, or cowed by your sufferings. I am of opinion that national greatness is more for the advantage of private citizens, than any individual well-being88 coupled with public humiliation89. A man may be personally ever so well off, and yet if his country be ruined he must be ruined with it; whereas a flourishing commonwealth90 always affords chances of salvation91 to unfortunate individuals. Since then a state can support the misfortunes of private citizens, while they cannot support hers, it is surely the duty of every one to be forward in her defence, and not like you to be so confounded with your domestic afflictions as to give up all thoughts of the common safety, and to blame me for having counselled war and yourselves for having voted it. And yet if you are angry with me, it is with one who, as I believe, is second to no man either in knowledge of the proper policy, or in the ability to expound92 it, and who is moreover not only a patriot93 but an honest one. A man possessing that knowledge without that faculty94 of exposition might as well have no idea at all on the matter: if he had both these gifts, but no love for his country, he would be but a cold advocate for her interests; while were his patriotism95 not proof against bribery96, everything would go for a price. So that if you thought that I was even moderately distinguished97 for these qualities when you took my advice and went to war, there is certainly no reason now why I should be charged with having done wrong.
“For those of course who have a free choice in the matter and whose fortunes are not at stake, war is the greatest of follies98. But if the only choice was between submission99 with loss of independence, and danger with the hope of preserving that independence, in such a case it is he who will not accept the risk that deserves blame, not he who will. I am the same man and do not alter, it is you who change, since in fact you took my advice while unhurt, and waited for misfortune to repent100 of it; and the apparent error of my policy lies in the infirmity of your resolution, since the suffering that it entails101 is being felt by every one among you, while its advantage is still remote and obscure to all, and a great and sudden reverse having befallen you, your mind is too much depressed102 to persevere103 in your resolves. For before what is sudden, unexpected, and least within calculation, the spirit quails104; and putting all else aside, the plague has certainly been an emergency of this kind. Born, however, as you are, citizens of a great state, and brought up, as you have been, with habits equal to your birth, you should be ready to face the greatest disasters and still to keep unimpaired the lustre105 of your name. For the judgment106 of mankind is as relentless107 to the weakness that falls short of a recognized renown108, as it is jealous of the arrogance109 that aspires110 higher than its due. Cease then to grieve for your private afflictions, and address yourselves instead to the safety of the commonwealth.
“If you shrink before the exertions111 which the war makes necessary, and fear that after all they may not have a happy result, you know the reasons by which I have often demonstrated to you the groundlessness of your apprehensions112. If those are not enough, I will now reveal an advantage arising from the greatness of your dominion113, which I think has never yet suggested itself to you, which I never mentioned in my previous speeches, and which has so bold a sound that I should scarce adventure it now, were it not for the unnatural depression which I see around me. You perhaps think that your empire extends only over your allies; I will declare to you the truth. The visible field of action has two parts, land and sea. In the whole of one of these you are completely supreme114, not merely as far as you use it at present, but also to what further extent you may think fit: in fine, your naval115 resources are such that your vessels may go where they please, without the King or any other nation on earth being able to stop them. So that although you may think it a great privation to lose the use of your land and houses, still you must see that this power is something widely different; and instead of fretting116 on their account, you should really regard them in the light of the gardens and other accessories that embellish117 a great fortune, and as, in comparison, of little moment. You should know too that liberty preserved by your efforts will easily recover for us what we have lost, while, the knee once bowed, even what you have will pass from you. Your fathers receiving these possessions not from others, but from themselves, did not let slip what their labour had acquired, but delivered them safe to you; and in this respect at least you must prove yourselves their equals, remembering that to lose what one has got is more disgraceful than to be balked118 in getting, and you must confront your enemies not merely with spirit but with disdain119. Confidence indeed a blissful ignorance can impart, ay, even to a coward’s breast, but disdain is the privilege of those who, like us, have been assured by reflection of their superiority to their adversary120. And where the chances are the same, knowledge fortifies121 courage by the contempt which is its consequence, its trust being placed, not in hope, which is the prop3 of the desperate, but in a judgment grounded upon existing resources, whose anticipations122 are more to be depended upon.
“Again, your country has a right to your services in sustaining the glories of her position. These are a common source of pride to you all, and you cannot decline the burdens of empire and still expect to share its honours. You should remember also that what you are fighting against is not merely slavery as an exchange for independence, but also loss of empire and danger from the animosities incurred123 in its exercise. Besides, to recede11 is no longer possible, if indeed any of you in the alarm of the moment has become enamoured of the honesty of such an unambitious part. For what you hold is, to speak somewhat plainly, a tyranny; to take it perhaps was wrong, but to let it go is unsafe. And men of these retiring views, making converts of others, would quickly ruin a state; indeed the result would be the same if they could live independent by themselves; for the retiring and unambitious are never secure without vigorous protectors at their side; in fine, such qualities are useless to an imperial city, though they may help a dependency to an unmolested servitude.
“But you must not be seduced125 by citizens like these or angry with me — who, if I voted for war, only did as you did yourselves — in spite of the enemy having invaded your country and done what you could be certain that he would do, if you refused to comply with his demands; and although besides what we counted for, the plague has come upon us — the only point indeed at which our calculation has been at fault. It is this, I know, that has had a large share in making me more unpopular than I should otherwise have been — quite undeservedly, unless you are also prepared to give me the credit of any success with which chance may present you. Besides, the hand of heaven must be borne with resignation, that of the enemy with fortitude126; this was the old way at Athens, and do not you prevent it being so still. Remember, too, that if your country has the greatest name in all the world, it is because she never bent127 before disaster; because she has expended128 more life and effort in war than any other city, and has won for herself a power greater than any hitherto known, the memory of which will descend6 to the latest posterity129; even if now, in obedience130 to the general law of decay, we should ever be forced to yield, still it will be remembered that we held rule over more Hellenes than any other Hellenic state, that we sustained the greatest wars against their united or separate powers, and inhabited a city unrivalled by any other in resources or magnitude. These glories may incur124 the censure131 of the slow and unambitious; but in the breast of energy they will awake emulation132, and in those who must remain without them an envious133 regret. Hatred134 and unpopularity at the moment have fallen to the lot of all who have aspired135 to rule others; but where odium must be incurred, true wisdom incurs136 it for the highest objects. Hatred also is short-lived; but that which makes the splendour of the present and the glory of the future remains137 for ever unforgotten. Make your decision, therefore, for glory then and honour now, and attain both objects by instant and zealous138 effort: do not send heralds139 to Lacedaemon, and do not betray any sign of being oppressed by your present sufferings, since they whose minds are least sensitive to calamity, and whose hands are most quick to meet it, are the greatest men and the greatest communities.”
Such were the arguments by which Pericles tried to cure the Athenians of their anger against him and to divert their thoughts from their immediate140 afflictions. As a community he succeeded in convincing them; they not only gave up all idea of sending to Lacedaemon, but applied141 themselves with increased energy to the war; still as private individuals they could not help smarting under their sufferings, the common people having been deprived of the little that they were possessed142, while the higher orders had lost fine properties with costly143 establishments and buildings in the country, and, worst of all, had war instead of peace. In fact, the public feeling against him did not subside144 until he had been fined. Not long afterwards, however, according to the way of the multitude, they again elected him general and committed all their affairs to his hands, having now become less sensitive to their private and domestic afflictions, and understanding that he was the best man of all for the public necessities. For as long as he was at the head of the state during the peace, he pursued a moderate and conservative policy; and in his time its greatness was at its height. When the war broke out, here also he seems to have rightly gauged145 the power of his country. He outlived its commencement two years and six months, and the correctness of his previsions respecting it became better known by his death. He told them to wait quietly, to pay attention to their marine146, to attempt no new conquests, and to expose the city to no hazards during the war, and doing this, promised them a favourable147 result. What they did was the very contrary, allowing private ambitions and private interests, in matters apparently148 quite foreign to the war, to lead them into projects unjust both to themselves and to their allies — projects whose success would only conduce to the honour and advantage of private persons, and whose failure entailed149 certain disaster on the country in the war. The causes of this are not far to seek. Pericles indeed, by his rank, ability, and known integrity, was enabled to exercise an independent control over the multitude — in short, to lead them instead of being led by them; for as he never sought power by improper150 means, he was never compelled to flatter them, but, on the contrary, enjoyed so high an estimation that he could afford to anger them by contradiction. Whenever he saw them unseasonably and insolently151 elated, he would with a word reduce them to alarm; on the other hand, if they fell victims to a panic, he could at once restore them to confidence. In short, what was nominally152 a democracy became in his hands government by the first citizen. With his successors it was different. More on a level with one another, and each grasping at supremacy153, they ended by committing even the conduct of state affairs to the whims154 of the multitude. This, as might have been expected in a great and sovereign state, produced a host of blunders, and amongst them the Sicilian expedition; though this failed not so much through a miscalculation of the power of those against whom it was sent, as through a fault in the senders in not taking the best measures afterwards to assist those who had gone out, but choosing rather to occupy themselves with private cabals155 for the leadership of the commons, by which they not only paralysed operations in the field, but also first introduced civil discord156 at home. Yet after losing most of their fleet besides other forces in Sicily, and with faction157 already dominant158 in the city, they could still for three years make head against their original adversaries159, joined not only by the Sicilians, but also by their own allies nearly all in revolt, and at last by the King’s son, Cyrus, who furnished the funds for the Peloponnesian navy. Nor did they finally succumb29 till they fell the victims of their own intestine160 disorders. So superfluously161 abundant were the resources from which the genius of Pericles foresaw an easy triumph in the war over the unaided forces of the Peloponnesians.
During the same summer the Lacedaemonians and their allies made an expedition with a hundred ships against Zacynthus, an island lying off the coast of Elis, peopled by a colony of Achaeans from Peloponnese, and in alliance with Athens. There were a thousand Lacedaemonian heavy infantry on board, and Cnemus, a Spartan162, as admiral. They made a descent from their ships, and ravaged most of the country; but as the inhabitants would not submit, they sailed back home.
At the end of the same summer the Corinthian Aristeus, Aneristus, Nicolaus, and Stratodemus, envoys163 from Lacedaemon, Timagoras, a Tegean, and a private individual named Pollis from Argos, on their way to Asia to persuade the King to supply funds and join in the war, came to Sitalces, son of Teres in Thrace, with the idea of inducing him, if possible, to forsake164 the alliance of Athens and to march on Potidaea then besieged165 by an Athenian force, and also of getting conveyed by his means to their destination across the Hellespont to Pharnabazus, who was to send them up the country to the King. But there chanced to be with Sitalces some Athenian ambassadors — Learchus, son of Callimachus, and Ameiniades, son of Philemon — who persuaded Sitalces’ son, Sadocus, the new Athenian citizen, to put the men into their hands and thus prevent their crossing over to the King and doing their part to injure the country of his choice. He accordingly had them seized, as they were travelling through Thrace to the vessel75 in which they were to cross the Hellespont, by a party whom he had sent on with Learchus and Ameiniades, and gave orders for their delivery to the Athenian ambassadors, by whom they were brought to Athens. On their arrival, the Athenians, afraid that Aristeus, who had been notably166 the prime mover in the previous affairs of Potidaea and their Thracian possessions, might live to do them still more mischief167 if he escaped, slew168 them all the same day, without giving them a trial or hearing the defence which they wished to offer, and cast their bodies into a pit; thinking themselves justified169 in using in retaliation170 the same mode of warfare171 which the Lacedaemonians had begun, when they slew and cast into pits all the Athenian and allied172 traders whom they caught on board the merchantmen round Peloponnese. Indeed, at the outset of the war, the Lacedaemonians butchered as enemies all whom they took on the sea, whether allies of Athens or neutrals.
About the same time towards the close of the summer, the Ambraciot forces, with a number of barbarians173 that they had raised, marched against the Amphilochian Argos and the rest of that country. The origin of their enmity against the Argives was this. This Argos and the rest of Amphilochia were colonized174 by Amphilochus, son of Amphiaraus. Dissatisfied with the state of affairs at home on his return thither after the Trojan War, he built this city in the Ambracian Gulf175, and named it Argos after his own country. This was the largest town in Amphilochia, and its inhabitants the most powerful. Under the pressure of misfortune many generations afterwards, they called in the Ambraciots, their neighbours on the Amphilochian border, to join their colony; and it was by this union with the Ambraciots that they learnt their present Hellenic speech, the rest of the Amphilochians being barbarians. After a time the Ambraciots expelled the Argives and held the city themselves. Upon this the Amphilochians gave themselves over to the Acarnanians; and the two together called the Athenians, who sent them Phormio as general and thirty ships; upon whose arrival they took Argos by storm, and made slaves of the Ambraciots; and the Amphilochians and Acarnanians inhabited the town in common. After this began the alliance between the Athenians and Acarnanians. The enmity of the Ambraciots against the Argives thus commenced with the enslavement of their citizens; and afterwards during the war they collected this armament among themselves and the Chaonians, and other of the neighbouring barbarians. Arrived before Argos, they became masters of the country; but not being successful in their attacks upon the town, returned home and dispersed176 among their different peoples.
Such were the events of the summer. The ensuing winter the Athenians sent twenty ships round Peloponnese, under the command of Phormio, who stationed himself at Naupactus and kept watch against any one sailing in or out of Corinth and the Crissaean Gulf. Six others went to Caria and Lycia under Melesander, to collect tribute in those parts, and also to prevent the Peloponnesian privateers from taking up their station in those waters and molesting177 the passage of the merchantmen from Phaselis and Phoenicia and the adjoining continent. However, Melesander, going up the country into Lycia with a force of Athenians from the ships and the allies, was defeated and killed in battle, with the loss of a number of his troops.
The same winter the Potidaeans at length found themselves no longer able to hold out against their besiegers. The inroads of the Peloponnesians into Attica had not had the desired effect of making the Athenians raise the siege. Provisions there were none left; and so far had distress for food gone in Potidaea that, besides a number of other horrors, instances had even occurred of the people having eaten one another. in this extremity178 they at last made proposals for capitulating to the Athenian generals in command against them — Xenophon, son of Euripides, Hestiodorus, son of Aristocleides, and Phanomachus, son of Callimachus. The generals accepted their proposals, seeing the sufferings of the army in so exposed a position; besides which the state had already spent two thousand talents upon the siege. The terms of the capitulation were as follows: a free passage out for themselves, their children, wives and auxiliaries179, with one garment apiece, the women with two, and a fixed sum of money for their journey. Under this treaty they went out to Chalcidice and other places, according as was their power. The Athenians, however, blamed the generals for granting terms without instructions from home, being of opinion that the place would have had to surrender at discretion180. They afterwards sent settlers of their own to Potidaea, and colonized it. Such were the events of the winter, and so ended the second year of this war of which Thucydides was the historian.
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previously
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pestilence
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prop
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forth
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futile
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descend
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descended
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speculation
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disturbance
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unprecedentedly
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11
recede
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| vi.退(去)，渐渐远去；向后倾斜，缩进 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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13
ostensible
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| adj.(指理由)表面的，假装的 | |
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14
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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16
hoarseness
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| n.嘶哑， 刺耳 | |
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17
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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18
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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19
spasms
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| n.痉挛( spasm的名词复数 )；抽搐；（能量、行为等的）突发；发作 | |
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ulcers
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| n.溃疡( ulcer的名词复数 )；腐烂物；道德败坏；腐败 | |
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21
linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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22
stark
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| adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地 | |
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23
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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24
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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25
torment
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| n.折磨；令人痛苦的东西(人)；vt.折磨；纠缠 | |
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26
marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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27
ravages
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| 劫掠后的残迹，破坏的结果，毁坏后的残迹 | |
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28
succumbed
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| 不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死 | |
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29
succumb
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| v.屈服，屈从；死 | |
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30
bowels
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| n.肠，内脏，内部；肠( bowel的名词复数 )；内部，最深处 | |
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31
disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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32
extremities
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| n.端点( extremity的名词复数 )；尽头；手和足；极窘迫的境地 | |
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33
privy
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| adj.私用的；隐密的 | |
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34
disorders
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| n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调 | |
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35
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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36
abstained
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| v.戒（尤指酒），戒除( abstain的过去式和过去分词 )；弃权（不投票） | |
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37
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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38
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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39
immunity
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| n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权 | |
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40
incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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41
malady
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| n.病，疾病(通常做比喻) | |
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42
inmates
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| n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 ) | |
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43
pretensions
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| 自称( pretension的名词复数 )； 自命不凡； 要求； 权力 | |
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44
compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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45
tally
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| n.计数器，记分，一致，测量；vt.计算，记录，使一致；vi.计算，记分，一致 | |
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46
elation
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| n.兴高采烈，洋洋得意 | |
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47
whatsoever
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| adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么 | |
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48
aggravation
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| n.烦恼，恼火 | |
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49
calamity
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| n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件 | |
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50
influx
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| n.流入，注入 | |
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51
lodged
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| v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
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52
stifling
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| a.令人窒息的 | |
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53
longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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54
corpses
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| n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 ) | |
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55
corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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56
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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57
profane
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| adj.亵神的，亵渎的；vt.亵渎，玷污 | |
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58
rites
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| 仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 ) | |
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59
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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60
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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61
perseverance
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| n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠 | |
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62
attain
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| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
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63
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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64
honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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65
devastation
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| n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤 | |
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66
dearth
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| n.缺乏，粮食不足，饥谨 | |
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67
juncture
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| n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头 | |
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68
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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69
oracle
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| n.神谕，神谕处，预言 | |
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70
populous
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| adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的 | |
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71
ravaging
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| 毁坏( ravage的现在分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫 | |
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72
infantry
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| n.[总称]步兵(部队) | |
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73
cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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74
galleys
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| n.平底大船，战舰( galley的名词复数 )；（船上或航空器上的）厨房 | |
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75
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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76
vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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77
ravaged
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| 毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫 | |
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78
maritime
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| adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的 | |
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79
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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80
havoc
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| n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱 | |
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81
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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82
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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83
vented
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| 表达，发泄（感情，尤指愤怒）( vent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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84
exasperated
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| adj.恼怒的 | |
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85
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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86
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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87
unreasonably
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| adv. 不合理地 | |
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88
well-being
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| n.安康，安乐，幸福 | |
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89
humiliation
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| n.羞辱 | |
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90
commonwealth
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| n.共和国，联邦，共同体 | |
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91
salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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92
expound
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| v.详述；解释；阐述 | |
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93
patriot
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| n.爱国者，爱国主义者 | |
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94
faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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95
patriotism
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| n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义 | |
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96
bribery
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| n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿 | |
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97
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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98
follies
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| 罪恶，时事讽刺剧； 愚蠢，蠢笨，愚蠢的行为、思想或做法( folly的名词复数 ) | |
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99
submission
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| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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100
repent
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| v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔 | |
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101
entails
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| 使…成为必要( entail的第三人称单数 )； 需要； 限定继承； 使必需 | |
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102
depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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103
persevere
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| v.坚持，坚忍，不屈不挠 | |
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104
quails
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| 鹌鹑( quail的名词复数 )； 鹌鹑肉 | |
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105
lustre
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| n.光亮，光泽；荣誉 | |
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106
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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107
relentless
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| adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的 | |
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108
renown
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| n.声誉，名望 | |
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109
arrogance
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| n.傲慢，自大 | |
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110
aspires
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| v.渴望，追求( aspire的第三人称单数 ) | |
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111
exertions
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| n.努力( exertion的名词复数 )；费力；（能力、权力等的）运用；行使 | |
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112
apprehensions
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| 疑惧 | |
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113
dominion
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| n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图 | |
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114
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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115
naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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116
fretting
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| n. 微振磨损 adj. 烦躁的, 焦虑的 | |
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117
embellish
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| v.装饰，布置；给…添加细节，润饰 | |
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118
balked
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| v.畏缩不前，犹豫( balk的过去式和过去分词 )；（指马）不肯跑 | |
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119
disdain
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| n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑 | |
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120
adversary
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| adj.敌手，对手 | |
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121
fortifies
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| 筑防御工事于( fortify的第三人称单数 )； 筑堡于； 增强； 强化（食品） | |
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122
anticipations
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| 预期( anticipation的名词复数 )； 预测； （信托财产收益的）预支； 预期的事物 | |
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123
incurred
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| [医]招致的，遭受的； incur的过去式 | |
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124
incur
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| vt.招致，蒙受，遭遇 | |
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125
seduced
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| 诱奸( seduce的过去式和过去分词 )； 勾引； 诱使堕落； 使入迷 | |
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126
fortitude
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| n.坚忍不拔；刚毅 | |
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127
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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128
expended
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| v.花费( expend的过去式和过去分词 )；使用（钱等）做某事；用光；耗尽 | |
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129
posterity
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| n.后裔，子孙，后代 | |
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130
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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131
censure
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| v./n.责备；非难；责难 | |
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132
emulation
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| n.竞争；仿效 | |
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133
envious
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| adj.嫉妒的，羡慕的 | |
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134
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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135
aspired
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| v.渴望，追求( aspire的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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136
incurs
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| 遭受，招致，引起( incur的第三人称单数 ) | |
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137
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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138
zealous
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| adj.狂热的，热心的 | |
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139
heralds
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| n.使者( herald的名词复数 )；预报者；预兆；传令官v.预示( herald的第三人称单数 )；宣布（好或重要） | |
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140
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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141
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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142
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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143
costly
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| adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的 | |
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144
subside
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| vi.平静，平息；下沉，塌陷，沉降 | |
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145
gauged
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| adj.校准的；标准的；量规的；量计的v.（用仪器）测量( gauge的过去式和过去分词 )；估计；计量；划分 | |
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146
marine
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| adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵 | |
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147
favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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148
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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149
entailed
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| 使…成为必要( entail的过去式和过去分词 )； 需要； 限定继承； 使必需 | |
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150
improper
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| adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的 | |
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151
insolently
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| adv.自豪地，自傲地 | |
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152
nominally
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| 在名义上，表面地； 应名儿 | |
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153
supremacy
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| n.至上；至高权力 | |
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154
WHIMS
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| 虚妄，禅病 | |
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155
cabals
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| n.（政治）阴谋小集团，（尤指政治上的）阴谋( cabal的名词复数 ) | |
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156
discord
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| n.不和，意见不合，争论，（音乐）不和谐 | |
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157
faction
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| n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争 | |
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158
dominant
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| adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因 | |
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159
adversaries
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| n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 ) | |
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160
intestine
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| adj.内部的；国内的；n.肠 | |
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161
superfluously
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| 过分地； 过剩地 | |
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162
spartan
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| adj.简朴的，刻苦的；n.斯巴达；斯巴达式的人 | |
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163
envoys
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| 使节( envoy的名词复数 )； 公使； 谈判代表； 使节身份 | |
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164
forsake
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| vt.遗弃，抛弃；舍弃，放弃 | |
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besieged
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| 包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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166
notably
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| adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地 | |
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167
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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168
slew
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| v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多 | |
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169
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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170
retaliation
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| n.报复，反击 | |
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171
warfare
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| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
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172
allied
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| adj.协约国的；同盟国的 | |
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173
barbarians
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| n.野蛮人( barbarian的名词复数 )；外国人；粗野的人；无教养的人 | |
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174
colonized
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| 开拓殖民地，移民于殖民地( colonize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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175
gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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176
dispersed
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| adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
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177
molesting
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| v.骚扰( molest的现在分词 )；干扰；调戏；猥亵 | |
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178
extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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179
auxiliaries
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| n.助动词 ( auxiliary的名词复数 )；辅助工，辅助人员 | |
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180
discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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