History of the Peloponnesian War

And so all alike were seized with a longing to go on the expedition: the elder, from a belief that they should either subdue the places against which they were about to sail, or that a large force would meet with no misfortune: those in the prime of life, from a desire of foreign sights and spectacles, and because they were in good hope of returning safe from it: the mass of the people and of the soldiery, from thinking that they should both make money at present, and gain additional power, from which an unfailing fund for pay would be obtained.

So that owing to the excessive desire of the majority for the measure, even if any one were not pleased with it, he was afraid that by voting against it he might appear ill—affected to the state, and therefore held his peace.