Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War 2.54.3 · 2.54.3

Plague or famine

ἐγένετο μὲν οὖν ἔρις τοῖς ἀνθρώποις μὴ λοιμὸν ὠνομάσθαι ἐν τῷ ἔπει ὑπὸ τῶν παλαιῶν, ἀλλὰ λιμόν, ἐνίκησε δὲ ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος εἰκότως λοιμὸν εἰρῆσθαι· οἱ γὰρ ἄνθρωποι πρὸς ἃ ἔπασχον τὴν μνήμην ἐποιοῦντο. ἢν δέ γε οἶμαί ποτε ἄλλος πόλεμος καταλάβῃ Δωρικὸς τοῦδε ὕστερος καὶ ξυμβῇ γενέσθαι λιμόν, κατὰ τὸ εἰκὸς οὕτως ᾄσονται.

There was a dispute among people over whether the ancients had said "famine" in the verse rather than "plague". In the present case, naturally, the view that "plague" had been said won out. For people shaped their memory to fit what they were suffering. But if ever another Dorian war comes after this one, and a famine happens to occur, they will sing the verse the other way, I suppose.

Word by word

ἐγένετοegénetothere wasμὲνmèn—οὖνoûnnowἔριςérisa disputeτοῖςtoîsamongἀνθρώποιςanthrṓpoispeopleμὴmḕnotλοιμὸνloimònplagueὠνομάσθαιōnomásthainamedἐνeninτῷtôitheἔπειépeiverseὑπὸhypòbyτῶνtôntheπαλαιῶνpalaiônancients,ἀλλὰallàbutλιμόνlimónfamine,ἐνίκησεeníkēseprevailedδὲdèyetἐπὶepìinτοῦtoûtheπαρόντοςparóntospresentεἰκότωςeikótōsreasonablyλοιμὸνloimònplagueεἰρῆσθαιeirêsthaihad been said·οἱhoi—γὰρgàrforἄνθρωποιánthrōpoipeopleπρὸςpròsin line withἃhàwhatἔπασχονépaschonwere sufferingτὴνtḕn—μνήμηνmnḗmēnmemoryἐποιοῦντοepoioûntoshaped.ἢνḕnifδέdébutγεge—οἶμαίoîmaíI supposeποτεpoteeverἄλλοςállosanotherπόλεμοςpólemoswarκαταλάβῃkatalábēicomes uponΔωρικὸςDōrikòsDorianτοῦδεtoûdethis oneὕστεροςhýsterosafterκαὶkaìandξυμβῇxymbêiit happensγενέσθαιgenésthaioccursλιμόνlimónfamine,κατὰkatàaccording toτὸtò—εἰκὸςeikòslikelyοὕτωςhoútōssoᾄσονταιáisontaiwill sing.

The setting

People argue over whether the verse said loimos, plague, or limos, famine. The present suffering decides it for plague, and Thucydides says a later war with a famine would decide it the other way.

A note on this passage

The whole quarrel turns on one letter. Loimos, "plague," and limos, "famine," differ only by the o in the first syllable, and Thucydides sets them in the sentence one after the other, mē loimon … alla limon, "not plague … but famine," so that the reader can see how close they sit. He does not say which word the verse really had. He reports that people argued, that the argument was settled by what was going on around them (epi tou parontos, "in view of the present"), and he calls that result eikotōs, "reasonable."

The explanation comes in a short gar-clause: pros ha epaschon tēn mnēmēn epoiounto, people "made their memory to fit what they were suffering." The last sentence runs the same logic forward. If a second Dorian war brings a famine, then kata to eikos houtōs āisontai, "as is likely, they will sing it so," with limos. The tentative oimai, "I suppose," is Thucydides speaking in his own voice, and it is one of the few places in this stretch where he steps in to guess. He treats the verse as something people sing and re-sing to match events.

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Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War 2.54.3 — The Great Library Project interlinear edition · greatlibraryproject.com/book/thucydides/2.54.3/