Snagged from Wikipedia re Thucydides writing on the siege of Melos
Original Greek: δυνατὰ δὲ οἱ προύχοντες πράσσουσι καὶ οἱ ἀσθενεῖς ξυγχωροῦσιν
Possible translations:
William Smith (1831): "in what terms soever the powerful enjoin obedience, to those the weak are obliged to submit."
Richard Crawley (1910): "the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must"
Rex Warner (1954): "the strong do what they have the power to do and the weak accept what they have to accept".
Benjamin Jowett (1881): "the powerful exact what they can, and the weak grant what they must".
Thomas Hobbes (1629): "they that have odds of power exact as much as they can, and the weak yield to such conditions as they can get".
Johanna Hanink (2019): "Those in positions of power do what their power permits, while the weak have no choice but to accept it."
Possible translations:
William Smith (1831): "in what terms soever the powerful enjoin obedience, to those the weak are obliged to submit."
Richard Crawley (1910): "the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must"
Rex Warner (1954): "the strong do what they have the power to do and the weak accept what they have to accept".
Benjamin Jowett (1881): "the powerful exact what they can, and the weak grant what they must".
Thomas Hobbes (1629): "they that have odds of power exact as much as they can, and the weak yield to such conditions as they can get".
Johanna Hanink (2019): "Those in positions of power do what their power permits, while the weak have no choice but to accept it."
I suppose that it would be nice to understand why this seems to be the case.
Maybe evolutionary theory…
