Nepos, Miltiades 1

Milt. 1.1Miltiadēs, Cimōnis fīlius, Athēniēnsis, cum et antīquitāte generis et glōriā maiōrum et suā modestiā ūnus omnium maximē flōrēret eāque esset aetāte, ut nōn iam sōlum dē eō bene spērāre, sed etiam cōnfīdere cīvēs possent suī, tālem eum futūrum, quālem cognitum iūdicārunt, accidit ut Athēniēnsēs Chersonēsum colōnōs vellent mittere.

Miltiades, son of Cimon, an Athenian, was flourishing beyond everyone else through the antiquity of his family, the glory of his ancestors and his own modesty, and he was of an age at which his fellow citizens could not only hope well of him but even be confident that he would turn out such as they had judged him to be; at that time it happened that the Athenians wanted to send colonists to the Chersonese.

Note. A long opening sentence typical of Nepos: the cum-clause (with two subjunctives, flōrēret and esset) sets the scene before the main verb accidit ut … vellent. eāque esset aetāte: 'and was of such an age', an ablative of description. tālem eum futūrum, quālem cognitum iūdicārunt: tālis … quālis, 'such … as'. iūdicārunt is the contracted form of iūdicāvērunt. The Chersonese is the long peninsula on the European side of the Hellespont (modern Gallipoli); the Athenians wanted a foothold there on the grain route from the Black Sea.

Milt. 1.2Cuius generis cum magnus numerus esset et multī eius dēmigrātiōnis peterent societātem, ex iīs dēlēctī Delphōs dēlīberātum missī sunt, quō potissimum duce ūterentur.

Since the number of that class of people was great and many were seeking a share in the emigration, chosen men from among them were sent to Delphi to consult on which leader they should above all employ.

Note. dēlīberātum is a supine in -um after a verb of motion (missī sunt): 'sent to consult'. quō … duce ūterentur: an indirect question, 'which leader they should use'; ūtor takes the ablative. Delphi was the most famous oracle in Greece.

Milt. 1.2Namque tum Thraecēs eās regiōnēs tenēbant, cum quibus armīs erat dīmicandum.

For at that time the Thracians held those regions, and they would have to fight it out with them in arms.

Note. erat dīmicandum: the impersonal gerundive with sum expresses necessity, 'there had to be fighting'.

Milt. 1.3Cōnsulentibus nōminātim Pȳthia praecēpit, ut Miltiadem imperātōrem sibi sūmerent: id sī fēcissent, incepta prospera futūra.

When they consulted her, the Pythia instructed them by name to take Miltiades as their commander: if they did that, their undertakings would be successful.

Note. Cōnsulentibus: a present participle used as a noun, 'to those consulting', dative with praecēpit. incepta prospera futūra: the indirect statement continues without a verb of saying; supply esse with futūra. The Pythia was Apollo's priestess at Delphi.

Milt. 1.4Hōc ōrāculī respōnsō Miltiadēs cum dēlēctā manū classe Chersonēsum profectus cum accessisset Lēmnum et incolās eius īnsulae sub potestātem redigere vellet Athēniēnsium, idque ut Lēmniī suā sponte facerent postulāsset, illī irrīdentēs respondērunt tum id sē factūrōs, cum ille domō nāvibus profectus ventō aquilōne vēnisset Lēmnum.

On the strength of this answer of the oracle Miltiades set out with a chosen band in a fleet for the Chersonese; when he had put in at Lemnos and wished to bring the inhabitants of that island under the power of the Athenians, and had demanded that the Lemnians do this of their own accord, they answered mockingly that they would do it when he, having set out from home with his ships, had come to Lemnos on a north wind.

Note. Hōc ōrāculī respōnsō: ablative of cause, 'on the strength of this reply'. The Lemnians' answer is in indirect statement (sē factūrōs). Their joke depends on geography: a north wind blows ships from the Chersonese south to Lemnos, but from Athens it is a head wind. Miltiades later came from his new home in the Chersonese.

Milt. 1.5Hic enim ventus ab septemtriōnibus oriēns adversum tenet Athēnīs proficīscentibus.

For this wind, rising from the north, is against those setting out from Athens.

Note. adversum tenet: 'is contrary'; adversum is used adverbially. Athēnīs proficīscentibus: dative, 'for those setting out from Athens' (Athēnīs is ablative of place from which, without a preposition, as with names of towns).

Milt. 1.6Miltiadēs morandī tempus nōn habēns cursum dīrēxit, quō tendēbat, pervēnitque Chersonēsum.

Miltiades, having no time for delay, held the course on which he was heading and reached the Chersonese.

Note. morandī: genitive of the gerund with tempus, 'time for delay'. quō tendēbat: 'where he was heading', quō as a relative adverb.