Thucydides was an ancient Greek historian, whose masterwork, "History of the Peloponesian War", recorded thirty years of war between Athens and Sparta. He wrote the work while in exile - Peter Levine says that he was "unjustly exiled from democratic Athens for a military failure".
In the poem, Auden says that "exiled Thucydides knew/all that a speech can say/about democracy", referencing a section in Chapter II of the History, where Thucydides presents Pericles' funeral oration. Peter Levine says that "Thucydides probably presents Pericles’ speech ironically. He implies that it is propaganda; in fact, self-interest explains all politics." Sam Diener agress that in this section, Thucydides "bravely critiqued Athenian imperialism and warned of the dangers of dictatorship." Readers have found evidence for this irony in the way that the book is organized - immediatley following the glowing funeral oration is a section on the plague, where the Athenians do not act like they are "worthy of admiration", as Pericles says they are - during the plague:
"Men now coolly ventured on what they had formerly done in a corner, and not just as they pleased, seeing the rapid transitions produced by persons in prosperity suddenly dying and those who before had nothing succeeding to their property. So they resolved to spend quickly and enjoy themselves, regarding their lives and riches as alike things of a day. Perseverance in what men called honour was popular with none, it was so uncertain whether they would be spared to attain the object; but it was settled that present enjoyment, and all that contributed to it, was both honourable and useful. Fear of gods or law of man there was none to restrain them. As for the first, they judged it to be just the same whether they worshipped them or not, as they saw all alike perishing; and for the last, no one expected to live to be brought to trial for his offences, but each felt that a far severer sentence had been already passed upon them all and hung ever over their heads, and before this fell it was only reasonable to enjoy life a little." (Book II, Chapter II, History of the Peloponesian War)
This must make one wonder what Thucydides thinks of human nature - even if he does not intentionally juxtapose these two scenes, he must have observed the distance between the actions described during the plague and those described by Pericles, who says, shortly before the plague:
"Our constitution does not copy the laws of neighbouring states; we are rather a pattern to others than imitators ourselves. Its administration favours the many instead of the few; this is why it is called a democracy. If we look to the laws, they afford equal justice to all in their private differences; if no social standing, advancement in public life falls to reputation for capacity, class considerations not being allowed to interfere with merit; nor again does poverty bar the way, if a man is able to serve the state, he is not hindered by the obscurity of his condition. The freedomwhich we enjoy in our government extends also to our ordinary life. There, far from exercising a jealous surveillance over each other, we do not feel called upon to be angry with our neighbour for doing what he likes, or even to indulge in those injurious looks which cannot fail to be offensive, although they inflict no positive penalty. But all this ease in our private relations does not make us lawless as citizens. Against this fear is our chief safeguard, teaching us to obey the magistrates and the laws, particularly such as regard the protection of the injured, whether they are actually on the statute book, or belong to that code which, although unwritten, yet cannot be broken without acknowledged disgrace. " (Book II, Chapter I, History of the Peloponesian War)
Thucydides gives some indication of what he thinks of humanity. He says in Book I,
"The absence of romance in my history will, I fear, detract somewhat from its interest; but if it be judged useful by those inquirers who desire an exact knowledge of the past as an aid to the interpretation of the future, which in the course of human things must resemble if it does not reflect it, I shall be content. In fine, I have written my work, not as an essay which is to win the applause of the moment, but as a possession for all time." (Book I, Chapter I, History of the Peloponesian War).
Thucydides sees history as destined to repeat itself, as Auden suggests in his stanza on Thucydides ("mismanagment and grief/we must suffer them all again"). And he also gives an indication as to the purpose of his book, which is to teach people of the future - "to last forever", as a translation from a Penguin Classics edition says. Thucydides means to educate people, and understands that the future will resemble the past, and means people to understand this through his work, but does not intend for his work to make this future avoidable - he seems to think that the future will be repeated no matter what.
C.D. Blanton talks about Thucydides's feeling of the repetition of history - he says that in the poem, Thucydides' "dispassionate autopsy of Athenian fecklessness, his helpless mastery of the larger strategic complications of a conflictenerations in coming, his mixture of admiration and contempt for the succeseses and errors of his fellow citizens" are comparable to "Auden's own curiously liminal, weakly committe position in September's "neutral air"." He also comments that they form a contrast to the reference to Nijinsky, who incorporates "the madness of a culture at large as a personal crisis".
For a possible point of interest - Pericles' funeral oration is said to have influenced Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg address. For more on that, one may wish to see this article.
Thucydides gives some indication of what he thinks of humanity. He says in Book I,
"The absence of romance in my history will, I fear, detract somewhat from its interest; but if it be judged useful by those inquirers who desire an exact knowledge of the past as an aid to the interpretation of the future, which in the course of human things must resemble if it does not reflect it, I shall be content. In fine, I have written my work, not as an essay which is to win the applause of the moment, but as a possession for all time." (Book I, Chapter I, History of the Peloponesian War).
Thucydides sees history as destined to repeat itself, as Auden suggests in his stanza on Thucydides ("mismanagment and grief/we must suffer them all again"). And he also gives an indication as to the purpose of his book, which is to teach people of the future - "to last forever", as a translation from a Penguin Classics edition says. Thucydides means to educate people, and understands that the future will resemble the past, and means people to understand this through his work, but does not intend for his work to make this future avoidable - he seems to think that the future will be repeated no matter what.
C.D. Blanton talks about Thucydides's feeling of the repetition of history - he says that in the poem, Thucydides' "dispassionate autopsy of Athenian fecklessness, his helpless mastery of the larger strategic complications of a conflictenerations in coming, his mixture of admiration and contempt for the succeseses and errors of his fellow citizens" are comparable to "Auden's own curiously liminal, weakly committe position in September's "neutral air"." He also comments that they form a contrast to the reference to Nijinsky, who incorporates "the madness of a culture at large as a personal crisis".
For a possible point of interest - Pericles' funeral oration is said to have influenced Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg address. For more on that, one may wish to see this article.