Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War 2.53.3 · 2.53.3
No one strives for honor
Read the full text in our reader
καὶ τὸ μὲν προσταλαιπωρεῖν τῷ δόξαντι καλῷ οὐδεὶς πρόθυμος ἦν, ἄδηλον νομίζων εἰ πρὶν ἐπ’ αὐτὸ ἐλθεῖν διαφθαρήσεται· ὅτι δὲ ἤδη τε ἡδὺ πανταχόθεν τε ἐς αὐτὸ κερδαλέον, τοῦτο καὶ καλὸν καὶ χρήσιμον κατέστη.
And no one was eager to keep toiling for what seemed noble, thinking it unclear whether he would be destroyed before he reached it. Whatever was already pleasant, and whatever was profitable for pleasure from any source, this came to be counted as both noble and useful.
Word by word
The setting
No one would work at what seemed noble, since they might die first; whatever was pleasant and profitable came to count as noble and useful.
A note on this passage
The verb prostalaipōrein is talaipōreō, "to endure hardship," with pros-, "further," so it means to keep toiling on for something. The thing toiled for is to doxanti kalō, "what seemed noble," and the participle doxanti, "having seemed," leaves the noble thing as a matter of opinion only. No one is prothymos, "eager," and the reason is the doubt in adēlon, "unclear," whether the man will be destroyed (diaphtharēsetai) before he arrives.
The second half changes the vocabulary of praise. The word kalon, "noble" or "fine," now goes to whatever is hēdy, pleasant, and kerdaleon, profitable. The last verb, katestē, "was set up" or "became," says the new usage took hold as a settled thing. The adverb pantachothen, "from every side," says the profit could come from any source at all.
Read the full commentary — and tap any word for its dictionary entry — in the interlinear reader.
Open Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War 2.53.3 in the full reader
Always open passages in the reader
From the Great Library
You are reading a page of the Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War — the whole book is free in our interlinear reader.
The Great Library Project presses the classics in their original languages, glossed word by word — free to read, always. Browse the whole library.
Also on our shelves:
Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War 2.53.3 — The Great Library Project interlinear edition · greatlibraryproject.com/book/thucydides/2.53.3/