Nepos, Themistocles 4

Them. 4.1At Xerxēs Thermopylīs expugnātīs prōtinus accessit astu idque nūllīs dēfendentibus interfectīs sacerdōtibus, quōs in arce invēnerat, incendiō dēlēvit.

But Xerxes, once Thermopylae was taken, went straight to the city, and since no one was defending it, he killed the priests he had found on the citadel and destroyed it by fire.

Note. astū: the Greek word for 'the city', used of Athens; Nepos keeps it as a foreign word. nūllīs dēfendentibus: ablative absolute, 'with no one defending'.

Them. 4.2Cuius flammā perterritī classiāriī cum manēre nōn audērent et plūrimī hortārentur, ut domōs suās discēderent moenibusque sē dēfenderent, Themistoclēs ūnus restitit et ūniversōs parēs esse posse aiēbat, dispersōs testābātur peritūrōs, idque Eurybiadī, rēgī Lacedaemoniōrum, quī tum summae imperiī praeerat, fore affirmābat.

Terrified by the blaze, the sailors did not dare to stay, and most were urging that they should go off to their homes and defend themselves behind walls; Themistocles alone stood firm, and kept saying that united they could be a match for the enemy, and declared that scattered they would perish; and he assured Eurybiades, king of the Spartans, who then held the supreme command, that this would happen.

Note. This long sentence mixes constructions: cum + subjunctive (auderent, hortārentur), then three main verbs for Themistocles (restitit, āiēbat, testābātur, affirmābat), each with its own indirect statement. ūniversōs, dispersōs: 'all together', 'scattered'. peritūrōs (esse) and fore are future infinitives.

Them. 4.3Quem cum minus quam vellet movēret, noctū dē servīs suīs quem habuit fidēlissimum ad rēgem mīsit, ut eī nūntiāret suīs verbīs, adversāriōs eius in fugā esse: quī sī discessissent, maiōre cum labōre et longinquiōre tempore bellum cōnfectūrum, cum singulōs cōnsectārī cōgerētur: quōs sī statim aggrederētur, brevī ūniversōs oppressūrum.

When he could not move him as much as he wished, he sent by night to the king the most loyal of his slaves, to tell him in his master's name that his enemies were in flight: if they got away, he would finish the war with greater labour and over a longer time, since he would be forced to hunt them down one by one; if he attacked them at once, he would soon crush them all together.

Note. The famous ruse: Themistocles sent his slave Sicinnus (Herodotus 8.75) to tell Xerxes the Greeks were about to escape. suīs verbīs: 'in his (master's) words', i.e. in his name. The message is in indirect speech with conditions: sī discessissent … cōnfectūrum (esse); quōs sī statim aggrederētur … oppressūrum (esse).

Them. 4.4Hoc eō valēbat, ut ingrātiīs ad dēpugnandum omnēs cōgerentur.

The point of this was that all of them should be forced to fight, against their will.

Note. eō valēbat ut: 'its aim was that', literally 'it had force to this end'. ingrātiīs: 'unwillingly', an old ablative used as an adverb.

Them. 4.5Hāc rē audītā barbarus, nihil dolī subesse crēdēns, postrīdiē aliēnissimō sibi locō, contrā opportūnissimō hostibus adeō angustō marī cōnflīxit, ut eius multitūdō nāvium explicārī nōn potuerit.

When he heard this, the barbarian, believing there was no trick behind it, the next day fought in waters most unfavourable to himself and, on the other hand, most favourable to the enemy, a sea so narrow that his great number of ships could not deploy.

Note. Hāc rē audītā: ablative absolute. nihil dolī: partitive genitive, 'nothing of a trick'. alienissimō sibi … opportūnissimō hostibus: a balanced antithesis of superlatives. adeō angustō … ut … nōn potuerit: result clause; the perfect subjunctive stresses the actual result.

Them. 4.5Victus ergō est magis etiam cōnsiliō Themistoclī quam armīs Graeciae.

So he was beaten even more by the plan of Themistocles than by the arms of Greece.

Note. Themistoclī: a Latin genitive in -ī for the Greek name (also Themistoclis).