History of the Peloponnesian War

And if the Athenians shall subdue us, it is by your decisions that they will prevail, but it is in their own name that they will be honoured, and the prize of victory they will take will be none other than those who procured them the victory; if, on the other hand, we shall conquer, you also will have to pay the penalty of being the cause of our perils.

Reflect, therefore, and choose here and now, either immediate slavery with no danger or, if you join us and prevail, the chance of not having to take, with disgrace, these men as masters, and also, as regards us, of escaping an enmity that would not be transitory.”

Such was the speech of Hermocrates; after him Euphemus, the envoy of the Athenians, spoke as follows:-

"We had come here for the renewal of the alliance[*](Cf. Thuc. 6.75.3.) which formerly existed, but as the Syracusan has attacked us it is necessary to speak also about our empire, showing how rightly we hold it.