History of the Peloponnesian War

And you cannot regard a pacific policy in the same light as other states might, unless you will change your practices also to correspond with theirs.[*](The other Hellenic states, it would seem, were preaching the doctrine of non-interference or self-determination; Athens, according to Alcibiades, cannot accept this doctrine without accepting the consequences and relinquishing her empire.)“Calculating, then, that we shall rather strengthen our power here if we go over there, let us make the voyage, that we may lay low the haughty spirit of the Peloponnesians, as we shall if we let men see that in contempt of our present peaceful condition[*](Which was in reality an armed truce renewable every ten days.) we even sail against Sicily;

and that we may, at the same time, either acquire empire over all Hellas, as in all probability we shall, when the Hellenes there have been added to us, or may at least cripple the Syracusans, whereby both ourselves and our allies will be benefited.