When in answer to his question they all acknowledged that they could see no other hope, Peisander went on to present the with the stark conclusion. 'Well,' he said, 'this is not going to happen unless we win the King's trust by adopting a more prudent form of government and restricting eligibility for office to a selected few; unless we concentrate now on survival rather than the constitution (we can always change things later, if there is anything we do not like); and unless we bring back Alcibiades, who is the only man alive who can make this happen'.
[ὁπότε δὲ μὴ φαῖεν ἐρωτώμενοι, ἐνταῦθα δὴ σαφῶς ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς ὅτι ‘τοῦτο τοίνυν οὐκ ἔστιν ἡμῖν γενέσθαι, εἰ μὴ πολιτεύσομεν τε σωφρονέςτερον καὶ ἐς ὀλίγους μᾶλλον τὰς ἀρχὰς ποιήσομεν, ἵνα πιστεύῃ ἡμῖν βασιλεύς, καὶ μὴ περὶ πολιτείας τὸ πλέον βουλεύσομεν ἐν τῷ παρόντι ἢ περὶ σωτηρίας (ὕστερον γὰρ ἐξέσται ἡμῖν καὶ μεταθέσθαι, ἢν μή τι ἀρέσκῃ), Ἀλκιβιάδην τε κατάξομεν, ὃς μόνος τῶν νῦν οἷός τε τοῦτο κατεργάσασθαι.’]
Tucídides, A Guerra do Peloponeso VIII.53
Oxford World's Classics, Oxford: 2009 (trad.: Martin Hammond)
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