Page:History of Greece Vol VIII.djvu/213

POSITION OF THE GENERALS. 19. impossible that the assembly could be satisfied to acquit the gen- erals on such a presentation of the case ; nor could they well know how to apportion the blame between them and Theram- enes. The relatives of the men left to perish would be doubt- less in a state of violent resentment against one or other of the two, perhaps against both. Under these circumstances, it could hardly have been the sufficiency of their defence, it must have been rather the apparent generosity of their conduct towards Theramenes, in formally disavowing all charge of neglect against him, though he had advanced a violent charge against them, which produced the result that we read in Xenophon. The de- fence of the generals was listened to with favor and seemed likely to prevail with the majority. 1 Many individuals present offered themselves as bail for the generals, in order that the latter might be liberated from custody : but the debate had been so much prolonged we see from hence that there must have been a great deal of speaking that it was now dark, so that no vote could be taken, because the show of hands was not distinguish able. It was therefore resolved to adjourn the whole decision until another assembly ; but that in the mean time the senate should meet, should consider what would be the proper mode of trying and judging the generals, and should submit a proposition to that effect to the approaching assembly. It so chanced that immediately after this first assembly, during the interval before the meeting of the senate or the holding of the second assembly, the three days of the solemn annual festi- val called Apaturia intervened; early days in the month of 1 Xenoph. Ilcllcn. i, 7, 5-7. Meru 6e ravra oi arpanj-yoi u~e7.oyijaaTO, ov yup npolrrdri a<piai 7.6)-of Kara rbv vd/tov ...... ToiavTa /.eyovref e ir e 1 1? o v rbv dijfiov. The imperfect tense I TT e i & o v must be noticed : " they were persuading" or, seemed in the way to per wade, the people ; not lirftoav the aorist, which would mean that they ac tually did satisfy the people. The first words here cited from Xenophon, do not imply that the generals were checked or abridged in their liberty of speaking before the public assembly, but merely that no judicial trial and defence wercprantcd to them. In judicial defence, the person accused had a measured time for defence by the clepsydra, or water-clock allotted to him, during which no one could interrupt him ; a time doubtless much longer than ar. y single speaker would be permitted to occupy in the public assembly.