| Andocides, Speeches (English) (XML Header) [genre: prose; rhetoric] [word count] [lemma count] [Andoc.]. | ||
| <<Andoc. 3.12 | Andoc. 3.21 (Greek) | >>Andoc. 3.27 |
3.18And she is sacrificing this supremacy, not because we forced her to do so, but in order to give the whole of Greece its independence. The Spartans have now won three battles: the first at Corinth note against the full allied forces, who were left with no excuse for their defeat, save only that the Spartans, with none to aid them, fought more bravely than all the rest together; the second in Boeotia under Agesilaus, note when they once more gained a similar victory; and the third at the capture of Lechaeum, note against the full Argive and Corinthian forces, together with the Athenians and Boeotians present.
3.19But in spite of these amazing successes they, the victors in the field, are ready for a peace which will leave them with nothing save their own territory: they are recognizing the independence of the Greek states, and they are allowing their defeated opponents to share the freedom of the seas. Yet what terms of peace would they have gained from us, had they met with but a single defeat?
Boeotia is making peace? Boeotia went to war because she refused to allow Orchomenus its independence. note today, after the loss of thousands of lives, after the devastation of a large part of her territory, after heavy public and private expenditure, which is now a dead loss, after four years of fighting, Boeotia is recognizing the independence of Orchomenus and making peace, thereby rendering her sufferings useless, as by acknowledging the independence of Orchomenus at the outset she need never have gone to war at all. Those are the circumstances in which Boeotia is ceasing hostilities.
Sparta disposed to us? Here, if I am about to cause distress to any of you, I ask his forgiveness, as I shall be stating nothing but the facts. To begin with, when we lost our fleet on the Hellespont and were shut within our walls, note what did our present allies, note who were then on the Spartan side, propose to do with us? They proposed, did they not, to sell our citizens as slaves and make Attica a waste. And who was it who prevented this? The Spartans; they dissuaded the allies, and for their own part refused even to contemplate such measures.
3.22Later we gave them our oath, were allowed to erect the column, and accepted a truce upon dictated terms, a hardship which was welcome enough at the time. Nevertheless we then proceeded, by means of an alliance, to detach Boeotia and Corinth from Sparta , and to resume friendly relations with Argos , thereby involving Sparta in the battle of Corinth . note Who, again, turned the king of Persia against Sparta ? Who enabled Conon to fight the engagement at sea which lost her her maritime supremacy? note
3.23Yet in spite of all that she has suffered at our hands, she agrees to the same concessions as those made us by our allies, and offers us our walls, our fleet, and our islands. What terms of peace do you expect representatives to bring you back, may I ask? Can they do better than obtain the same advantages from the enemy as our friends are offering us, the very advantages which we went to war to secure for Athens ? Whereas others make peace at a loss to themselves, we gain precisely what we most want.
Corinth , and the appeal which Argos is making to us. First as to Corinth . I should like to be informed of the value of Corinth to us, if Boeotia leaves our ranks and makes peace with Sparta . Recall the day on which we concluded our alliance with Boeotia , gentlemen:
3.20Again, what are the conditions under which
3.21Now what are the terms available to ourselves, gentlemen? How is
3.24What, then, remains to be considered?
| Andocides, Speeches (English) (XML Header) [genre: prose; rhetoric] [word count] [lemma count] [Andoc.]. | ||
| <<Andoc. 3.12 | Andoc. 3.21 (Greek) | >>Andoc. 3.27 |
