ers associated the Samians in all their
affairs and in the fruits of their dangers, having the conviction that
there was no way of escape for themselves or for them, but that the
success of the Four Hundred or of the enemy at Miletus must be their
ruin.

The struggle now was between the army trying to force a democracy upon
the city, and the Four Hundred an oligarchy upon the camp. Meanwhile the
soldiers forthwith held an assembly, in which they deposed the former
generals and any of the captains whom they suspected, and chose
new captains and generals to replace them, besides Thrasybulus and
Thrasyllus, whom they had already. They also stood up and encouraged one
another, and among other things urged that they ought not to lose heart
because the city had revolted from them, as the party seceding was
smaller and in every way poorer in resources than themselves. They had
the whole fleet with which to compel the other cities in their empire to
give them money just as if they had their base in the capital, having a
city in Samos which, so far from wanting strength, had when at war been
within an ace of depriving the Athenians of the command of the sea,
while as far as the enemy was concerned they had the same base of
operations as before. Indeed, with the fleet in their hands, they were
better able to provide themselves with supplies than the government
at home. It was their advanced position at Samos which had throughout
enabled the home authorities to command the entrance into Piraeus; and
if they refused to give them back the constitution, they would now find
that the army was more in a position to exclude them from the sea than
they were to exclude the army. Besides, the city was of little or no use
towards enabling them to overcome the enemy; and they had lost nothing
in losing those who had no longer either money to send them (the
soldiers having to find this for themselves), or good counsel, which
entitles cities to direct armies. On the contrary, even in this the
home government had done wrong in abolishing the institutions of their
ancestors, while the army maintained the said institutions, and would
try to force the home government to do so likewise. So that even in
point of good counsel the camp had as good counsellors as the city.
Moreover, they had but to grant him security for his person and his
recall, and Alcibiades would be only too glad to procure them the
alliance of the King. And above all if they faile