History of the Peloponnesian War

And the following night they succeeded in building their wall beyond the works of the Athenians and in getting past, so that they themselves were no longer hampered by them, and had altogether deprived the Athenians, even if they should be victorious, of the possibility of ever investing them.

After this the remaining twelve ships of the Corinthians, Ambraciots, and Leucadians,[*](cf. 7.2.7; 7.4.7; also 6.104.1.) which were under the command of Erasinides, a Corinthian, sailed into the harbour, eluding the watch kept by the Athenians, and helped the Syracusans to build the rest of their cross-wall.

And Gylippus went into the other districts of Sicily to collect reinforcements for both his army and his navy, and at the same time to win over any of the cities that were either not zealously supporting the war or still held altogether aloof from it.

And another set of envoys representing the Syracusans and the Corinthians were despatched to Lacedaemon and Corinth, in order that further troops might be sent across the sea in whatever way might be available—in merchant-ships, small craft, or in any other way whatever—in view of the fact that the Athenians also were sending home for fresh troops.

Moreover, the Syracusans were manning a fleet and practising with a view to trying their hand at sea also; and in general they were much encouraged.

Nicias, perceiving this and seeing the enemy's strength and his own perplexities increasing day by day, on his part also sent word to Athens on many occasions, giving detailed reports of what was happening, and especially now, because he thought that they were in a critical situation and that there was no hope of safety unless the Athenians, with all possible speed, should either recall them or send out reinforcements in no small numbers.

But fearing that his messengers might not report the actual facts, either through inability to speak or from lapse of memory,[*](Or, reading γνώμης “from want of intelligence.”) or because they wanted to please the crowd, wrote a letter, thinking that in this way the Athenians would best learn his own view, obscured in no way by any fault on the part of the messenger, and could thus deliberate about the true situation.