Nepos, Themistocles 7

Them. 7.1Themistoclēs autem, ut Lacedaemonem vēnit, adīre ad magistrātūs nōluit et dedit operam, ut quam longissimē tempus dūceret, causam interpōnēns sē collēgās exspectāre.

Themistocles, when he reached Sparta, refused to go before the magistrates, and took pains to draw the time out as long as possible, giving as his excuse that he was waiting for his colleagues.

Note. ut Lacedaemonem vēnit: ut + perfect indicative means 'when'. quam longissimē: 'as long as possible'. causam interpōnēns: 'putting forward as an excuse'.

Them. 7.2Cum Lacedaemoniī quererentur opus nihilō minus fierī eumque in eā rē cōnārī fallere, interim reliquī lēgātī sunt cōnsecūtī.

While the Spartans were complaining that the work was going on all the same and that he was trying to deceive them in this, the other envoys arrived in the meantime.

Note. nihilō minus: 'none the less'; nihilō is an ablative of degree of difference.

Them. 7.2Ā quibus cum audīsset nōn multum superesse mūnītiōnis, ad ephorōs Lacedaemoniōrum accessit, penes quōs summum erat imperium, atque apud eōs contendit falsa iīs esse dēlāta: quārē aequum esse illōs virōs bonōs nōbilēsque mittere, quī rem explōrārent: intereā sē obsidem retinērent.

When he heard from them that not much of the fortification remained, he went to the ephors of the Spartans, in whose hands the supreme power lay, and insisted to them that false reports had been brought to them: so it was only fair that they should send good men of rank to look into the matter; meanwhile they should keep him as a hostage.

Note. penes quōs: penes + accusative, 'in whose hands'. The ephors were five annually elected Spartan magistrates with great power. The rest is indirect speech after contendit: falsa … esse dēlāta, aequum esse …, sē obsidem retinērent (indirect command).

Them. 7.3Gestus est eī mōs, trēsque lēgātī fūnctī summīs honōribus Athēnās missī sunt.

His wish was granted, and three envoys who had held the highest offices were sent to Athens.

Note. Gestus est eī mōs: 'his wish was humoured', an idiom (mōrem gerere + dative). functī summīs honōribus: fungor takes the ablative, 'having held the highest offices'.

Them. 7.3Cum hīs collēgās suōs Themistoclēs iussit proficīscī iīsque praedīxit, ut nē prius Lacedaemoniōrum lēgātōs dīmitterent quam ipse esset remissus.

Themistocles told his colleagues to set out with them, and instructed them not to let the Spartan envoys go until he himself had been sent back.

Note. ut nē = nē. prius … quam: 'before' (split priusquam) with the subjunctive, implying intention.

Them. 7.4Hōs postquam Athēnās pervēnisse ratus est, ad magistrātūs senātumque Lacedaemoniōrum adiit et apud eōs līberrimē professus est: Athēniēnsēs suō cōnsiliō, quod commūnī iūre gentium facere possent, deōs pūblicōs suōsque patriōs ac penātēs, quō facilius ab hoste possent dēfendere, mūrīs saepsisse neque in eō quod inūtile esset Graeciae fēcisse.

When he reckoned that these had reached Athens, he went before the magistrates and senate of the Spartans and declared to them very frankly: the Athenians, on his advice, had walled in their public gods and their own ancestral gods and household gods, as they were entitled to do by the common law of nations, so that they could more easily defend them from the enemy, and in doing so they had done nothing harmful to Greece.

Note. ratus: perfect participle of reor, used as a present, 'thinking'. The speech is in indirect statement: Athēniēnsēs … deōs … mūrīs saepsisse, 'that the Athenians had fenced in their gods with walls'. Penātēs: the household gods; Nepos uses Roman terms for Greek religion. quō facilius: quō introduces a purpose clause containing a comparative.

Them. 7.5Nam illōrum urbem prōpugnāculum oppositum esse barbarīs, apud quam iam bis cōpiās rēgiās fēcisse naufragium.

For their city had been set as a bulwark against the barbarians, and at it the king's forces had already twice been wrecked.

Note. bis: at Marathon (490) and Salamis (480). naufragium facere: 'to suffer shipwreck', here a metaphor for defeat.

Them. 7.6Lacedaemoniōs autem male et iniūstē facere, quī id potius intuērentur, quod ipsōrum dominātiōnī quam quod ūniversae Graeciae ūtile esset.

The Spartans, on the other hand, were acting wrongly and unjustly in looking rather to what was useful for their own domination than to what was useful for all Greece.

Note. male et iniūstē facere: 'acted wrongly and unjustly'. potius … quam: 'rather than'. quod … ūtile esset: relative clause with subjunctive in indirect speech.

Them. 7.6Quārē, sī suōs lēgātōs recipere vellent, quōs Athēnās mīserant, sē remitterent, cum aliter illōs numquam in patriam essent receptūrī.

So if they wanted back the envoys they had sent to Athens, they should send him back, since otherwise they would never get them back to their homeland.

Note. sī … vellent, … remitterent: a condition with an indirect command in reported speech. essent receptūrī: future periphrastic subjunctive, 'they were going to get back'.