17.
Nor again did the tyrants of the Hellenic cities extend their thoughts beyond their own
interest,1 that is, the security of their persons, and the aggrandisement of themselves and
their families. They were extremely cautious in the administration of their government,
and nothing considerable was ever effected by them; except in wars with
their neighbours,
as in Sicily, where their power attained its greatest height.
Thus for a long time everything conspired to prevent Hellas from uniting in any great
action and to paralyse enterprise in the individual states.
1 (2) The petty aims and cautious natures of the tyrants.
Thucydides translated into English; with introduction, marginal analysis, notes, and indices. Volume 1. Thucydides. Benjamin Jowett. translator. Oxford. Clarendon Press. 1881.
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