Greek Texts & Translations

6.1.7“He pointed out to me, further, although I knew it before, that he already had as subjects the Maracians, the Dolopians, and Alcetas, the ruler in Epirus. `Therefore,' he said, `what have I to fear that I should not expect to subdue you easily? To be sure, one who did not know me might perhaps retort, “Then why do you delay, instead of prosecuting your campaign against the Pharsalians at once?” Because, by Zeus, it seems to me to be altogether better to bring you over to my side willingly rather than unwillingly. For if you were constrained by force, you, on the one hand, would be planning whatever harm you could against me, and I, on the other, should be wanting to keep you as weak as I could; ^note but if it was through persuation that you joined with me, it is clear that we should advance one another's interests to the best of our ability. 6.1.8Now I know, Polydamas, that your city looks to you, and if you make her friendly to me I promise you,' he said, `that I will make you the greatest, next to myself, of all the men in Greece; and what manner of fortune it is wherein I offer you the second place, hear from me, and believe nothing that I say unless upon consideration it appears to you true. Well, then, this is plain to us, that if Pharsalus and the cities which are dependent upon you should be added to my power, I could easily become Tagus ^note of all the Thessalians; and, further, that whenever Thessaly is under a Tagus, her horsemen amount to six thousand and more than ten thousand men become hoplites. 6.1.9And when I see both their bodies and their high spirit, I think that if one should handle them rightly, there would be no people to whom the Thessalians would deign to be subject. Again, while Thessaly is an exceedingly flat land, ^note all the peoples round about are subject to her as soon as a Tagus is established here; and almost all who dwell in these neighbouring regions are javelin-men, so that it is likely that our force would be far superior in peltasts also. 6.1.10Furthermore, the Boeotians and all the others who are at war with the Lacedaemonians are my allies, and they are ready to be my followers, too, if only I free them from the Lacedaemonians. The Athenians also, I know very well, would do anything to become allies of ours, but I do not think it best ^note to establish a friendship with them; for I believe that I could obtain empire by sea even more easily than by land.

6.1.11“`To see whether my calculations are reasonable, he said, `consider these points also. With Macedonia in our possession, the place from which the Athenians get their timber, we shall of course be able to construct far more ships than they. Again, who are likely to be better able to supply these ships with men, the Athenians or ourselves, who have so many serfs of so excellent a sort? And who are likely to be better able to maintain the sailors, we, who on account of our abundance even have corn to export to other lands, or the Athenians, who have not even enough for themselves unless they buy it? 6.1.12Then as for money, we surely should be likely to enjoy a greater abundance of it, for we should not be looking to little islands for our revenues, but drawing upon the resources of peoples of the continent. For of course all who are round about us pay tribute as soon as Thessaly is under a Tagus. And you certainly know that it is by drawing upon the resources, not of islands, but of a continent, that the King of the Persians is the richest of mortals; and yet I think that it is even easier to reduce him to subjection than to reduce Greece. For I know that everybody there, save one person, has trained himself to servitude rather than to prowess, and I know what manner of force it was — both that which went up with Cyrus and that which went up with Agesilaus — that brought the King to extremities.'

6.1.13“Now in answer to these statements I replied that while the other matters which he mentioned ^note were worth considering, nevertheless for people who were friends of the Lacedaemonians to secede and go over to their enemies without having any charge to bring against them — this, I said, seemed to me to be impracticable. He thereupon, after commending me and saying that he must cling to me the more because I was that sort of a man, permitted me to come to you and say the truth, that he was intending to undertake a campaign against the Pharsalians if we did not yield to him. Therefore he bade me ask assistance from you. `And if,' said he, `the gods grant that you persuade them to send a supporting force large enough to make war with me, so be it,' he said, `and let us abide by whatever may be the result of the war; but if it seems to you that they do not give you adequate assistance, would you not justly be blameless thenceforth if you should follow the course that is best for your city, which honours you?'