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Contents of the Thirteenth Book of Diodorus
chapter 1chapter 2chapter 3chapter 4chapter 5chapter 6chapter 7chapter 8chapter 9chapter 10chapter 11chapter 12chapter 13chapter 14chapter 15chapter 16chapter 17chapter 18chapter 19chapter 20chapter 21chapter 22chapter 23chapter 24chapter 25chapter 26chapter 27chapter 28chapter 29chapter 30chapter 31chapter 32chapter 33chapter 34chapter 35chapter 36chapter 37chapter 38chapter 39chapter 40chapter 41chapter 42chapter 43chapter 44chapter 45chapter 46chapter 47chapter 48chapter 49chapter 50chapter 51chapter 52chapter 53chapter 54chapter 55chapter 56chapter 57chapter 58chapter 59chapter 60chapter 61chapter 62chapter 63chapter 64chapter 65chapter 66chapter 67chapter 68chapter 69chapter 70chapter 71chapter 72chapter 73chapter 74chapter 75chapter 76chapter 77chapter 78chapter 79chapter 80chapter 81chapter 82chapter 83chapter 84chapter 85chapter 86chapter 87chapter 88chapter 89chapter 90chapter 91chapter 92chapter 93chapter 94chapter 95chapter 96chapter 97chapter 98chapter 99chapter 100chapter 101chapter 102chapter 103chapter 104chapter 105chapter 106chapter 107chapter 108chapter 109chapter 110chapter 111chapter 112chapter 113chapter 114
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"Yet, by Zeus, someone will say, Nicias took the part of the
Syracusans in the debate and was the only one who advised against making war. As for what he
said there we know it by hearsay, but what has been done here we have witnessed with our own
eyes.
[2]
For the man who there opposed the expedition was here
commander of the armament; he who takes the part of Syracusans in debate walled off your city;
and he who is humanely disposed toward you, when Demosthenes and all the others wished to break
off the siege, alone compelled them to remain and continue the war. Therefore for my part I do
not believe that his words should have greater weight with you than his deeds, report than
experience, things unseen than things that have been witnessed by all.
[3]
"Yet, by Zeus, someone will say, it is a
good thing not to make our enmity eternal. Very well, then, after the punishment of the
malefactors you will, if you so agree, put an end to your enmity in a suitable manner. For it
is not just that men who treat their captives like slaves when they are the victors, should,
when they in turn are the vanquished, be objects of pity as if they had done no wrong. And
though they will have been freed of paying the penalty for their deeds, by specious pleas they
will remember the friendship only so long as it is to their advantage.
[4]
For I omit to mention the fact that, if you take this course, you will
be wronging not only many others but also the Lacedaemonians, who for your sake both entered
upon the war over there and also sent you aid here; for they might have been well content to
maintain peace and look on while Sicily was being laid
waste.1
[5]
Consequently, if you free the prisoners and thus enter into
friendly relations with Athens, you will be looked
upon as traitors to your allies and, when it is in your power to weaken the common enemy, by
releasing so great a number of soldiers you will make our enemy again formidable. For I could
never bring myself to believe that Athenians, after getting themselves involved in so bitter an
enmity, will keep the friendly relation unbroken; on the contrary, while they are weak they
will feign goodwill, but when they have recovered their strength, they will carry their
original purpose to completion.
[6]
I therefore adjure you all, in
the name of Zeus and all the gods, not to save the lives of your enemies, not to leave your
allies in the lurch, not again for a second time to bring peril upon your country. You
yourselves, men of Syracuse, if you let these men
go and then some ill befalls you, will leave for yourselves not even a respectable
defence."2
1 At the first request of the Syracusans for aid the Lacedaemonians did no more than send their general Gylippus (chap. 7), not wishing to break the peace with Athens. But early in 413 they declared war on Athens, seized and fortified Deceleia in Attica, and began sending troops on merchant ships to Sicily.
2 Plut. Nic. 28.2 and Thuc. 7.86.2 state that Gylippus proposed that the lives of the generals be spared, since he wished to take them back with him to Sparta.
Diodorus Siculus. Diodorus of Sicily in Twelve Volumes with an English Translation by C. H. Oldfather. Vol. 4-8. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1989.
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