40.
'Do not then hold out a hope, which eloquence can secure or money buy, that they are to
be excused and that their error is to1 be deemed human and venial.
Their attack was not unpremeditated; that might have been an excuse for them;
[2]
but they knew what they were doing.
This was my original contention, and I still maintain that you should abide by your
former decision, and not be misled either by pity, or by the charm of words, or by a too
forgiving temper.
[3]
There are no three things more prejudicial to your power.
Mercy should be reserved for the merciful, and not thrown away upon those who will have
no compassion on us, and who must by the force of circumstances always be our enemies.
And our charming orators will still have an arena2, but one in which the questions at stake will not be so grave, and the city will
not pay so dearly for her brief pleasure in listening to them, while they for a good
speech get a good fee.
Lastly, forgiveness is naturally shown to those who, being reconciled, will continue
friends, and not to those who will always remain what they were, and will abate nothing
of their enmity.
[4]
In one word, if you do as I say, you will do what is just to the Mytilenaeans, and also
what is expedient for yourselves; but, if you take the opposite course, they will not be
grateful to you, and you will be self-condemned.
For, if they were right in revolting, you must be wrong in maintaining your empire.
But if,-right or wrong, you are resolved to rule, then rightly or wrongly they must be
chastised for your good.
Otherwise you must give up your empire, and, when virtue is no longer
dangerous, you may be as virtuous as you please.
[5]
Punish them as they would have punished you; let not those who have escaped appear to
have less feeling than those who conspired against them.
Consider: what might not they have been expected to do if they had
conquered?—especially since they were the aggressors.
[6]
For those who wantonly attack others always rush into extremes, and sometimes, like
these Mytilenaeans, to their own destruction.
They know the fate which is reserved for them by an enemy who is spared: when a man is
injured wantonly he is more dangerous if he escape than the enemy who has only suffered
what he has inflicted3.
[7]
Be true then to yourselves, and recall as vividly as you can what you felt at the time;
think how you would have given the world to crush your enemies, and now take your
revenge.
Do not be soft-hearted at the sight of their distress, but remember the danger which
was once hanging over your heads.
Chastise them as they deserve, and prove by an example to your other allies that
rebellion will be punished with death.
If this is made quite clear to them, your attention will no longer be diverted from
your enemies by wars against your own allies.'
1 Do not be misled by pity, fine words, or a forgiving temper. If you have no right to chastise rebels, you have no right to rule. Treat them as they, fearing your vengeance, would have treated you. You will have no trouble with your allies when they know that rebellion all be punished by death
3 Or, referring the words to the Mytilenaeans: 'He who has gone out of his way to bring a calamity upon himself is more dangerous if he be allowed to escape than the enemy who only retaliates.'
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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