Fairness and Kindness in Thucydides

THE TITLE of this paper may sound somehow paradoxical. The world and the war which Thucydides describes are commanded by force and by violence. The Athenian empire is founded on fear and gathers only hatred. The hardness of war develops, among the people, ambition and greed, which flourish in civil strife: 6 7rbXEJos . . . lLatos ML doKaXos. It would seem, therefore, that fairness and kindness have no place there. Yet, I have shown elsewhere' that there are, in Tlhucydides' work, some hints showing a regret that Athens' power should not rest on good-will, or eunoia. And what should she have done in order to inspire such goodwill? The first answer that comes to mind is that she should have acted according to justice; and this is indeed suggested.2 Justice is what can be opposed to force and violence. In Athens' case it meant respecting the cities' autonomy. And this is just what they wanted. But justice is not always easy to define, in time of war or civil strife, nor is it always easy to follow, when passion and power invite to very different actions. It may therefore require the help of some general disposition or virtue which would support moderation-such as the mild and tranquil virtues, which are usually appreciated between friends, or within a family, and which are the ornaments of peace. Among them are 'R76brqls, rLELKELa, and rpa67r7s. And it is a fact that, when we look a little more closely at Thucydides' work, a regret of these virtues can be as clearly detected as the regret of eunoia. Where and how it shows may be worth considering, and it occurred to me that such a theme, where gentleness and firm lucidity were for once reconciled, was particularly apt to be dedicated to the scholar whom we honour on this occasion. First of all, it is remarkable enough to see that even the old Homeric adjective ipios is not unknown to Thucydides. Epios, in Greek, is generally used to describe the kind manners a father displays towards his children; more than his behaviour, it qualifies his tone and general gentleness. Neither Isocrates nor Polybius uses the word any more. But Thucydides uses it, in three different passages. Or, to be quite accurate, he uses it in the comparative; and the fact is not devoid of meaning: for, in that harsh world, there is no place for real gentleness; but one may long, at least, for

Kindness · Political science · Classical Antiquity Studies · Classical Philosophy and Thought · Law · Psychology · Social Psychology

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