History of the Peloponnesian War

As for the allied cities, to which forsooth they would promise an oligarchical form of government for the reason that they themselves would not be under a democracy, he said that he knew well that neither those which had revolted from the Athenians would be any more likely to come back into the alliance nor would those which still remained allies be more staunch; for they would not want to be slaves with either an oligarchy or a democracy in preference to being free with whichever form they might perchance have such freedom.

And as to those who were called “the good and true” men,[*](ie. the aristocrats.) he said that the allies believed that they would bring them no less trouble than the popular party, being as they were providers[*](The πορισταὶ at Athens were a board appointed in times of financial difficulty to devise and propose (ἐσηγεῖσθαι) new sources of revenue.) and proposers to the people of evil projects from which they themselves got the most benefit. Indeed, so far as it rested with these men, they, the allies, would be put to death not only without trial but by methods even more violent, whereas the people were a refuge to themselves and a check upon the oligarchs.

This understanding of the matter, he asserted, the allied cities had gained from the facts themselves, and he was quite sure that this was their opinion. Therefore, to himself at least not one of the schemes that were being advocated by Alcibiades at the present time was satisfactory.