History of the Peloponnesian War

When the envoys sent by the Four Hundred arrived at Athens on their return from Samos and reported what Alcibiades had said— urging them to hold out and make no concessions to the enemy, and saying that he had great hopes both of reconciling the army to the people at home and of prevailing over the Peloponnesians—most of those who shared in the oligarchy,[*](Referring, not only to the Four Hundred, but especially to the rest of the citizens who, in 8.69.2, are designated as οἱ ἐν τῇ ξυνωμοσίᾳ.) who were even before this in distress, and would have been glad to be safely rid of the business in any way, were far more encouraged.

And they were already beginning to form groups and criticize the state of affairs, having as their leaders some of the very men who were members of the oligarchy and held office, such as Theramenes son of Hagnon, Aristocrates son of Scelias, and others. These had been among the foremost of those who had taken an active part in the revolution, but being afraid in real earnest, as they said, of the army at Samos and of Alcibiades, as well as of those who were sending envoys to Lacedaemon, who they thought might, by acting without the sanction of the greater number, work some harm to the city, they did not indeed openly profess that they wanted to avoid reducing the government to an extreme oligarchy, but maintained that they ought to appoint the Five Thousand in fact and not merely in name, and to establish the government on the basis of a greater equality.

Now this phrase of theirs was a mere political catchword, and in their personal ambitions most of them eagerly pursued the sort of methods by which an oligarchy formed out of a democracy is most sure to come to ruin; for all demand forthwith, not equality, but each that he shall be quite the first himself; whereas under a democracy an election is held and every man acquiesces more readily in the result because he feels that those to whom he owes his defeat[*](ie. the majority.) are not his equals.[*](ie. in an oligarchy all are of the same class, and the promotion of one is a slight upon the rest; but in a democracy the defeated candidate may claim that the electors were ignorant or prejudiced, that he was not beaten on his merits, and so pass the matter over.)

But what most evidently encouraged these men was the fact that Alcibiades' position at Samos was so strong, and their opinion that the power of the oligarchy would not last long. Each one, therefore, strove to become the foremost leader of the people himself.