thucydides interpretive answer

Why do the Athenians make it clear from the beginning that they do not want to speak of justice?

I think that the Athenians were reluctant to speak of justice to the Melians because they were aware, on a conscious or sub-conscious level, that what they were commanding the Melians to do was not just. Every human being, whether they are considered good or bad, has a conscience, an inner knowledge of what is good and, likewise, what is bad. Even if the Athenians were not consciously aware that what they were doing was wrong, their consciences were. Because of this, the Athenians were very uncomfortable discussing justice with the Melians, and made it well known.
I also think that the Athenians might have sensed that the Melians were more inclined to justice than they were. They felt that if they started speaking of justice, the Melians would have the advantage. All of these feelings, I feel, contributed greatly to the Athenian’s avoidance of the topic of justice.

Interpretive question

Hey, here is my question and answer to the interpretive question:

Why do the Athenians make it clear from the beginning that they do not want to speak of justice?


If you were a master writer, would you treat an illiterate as an equal or an inferior?
Maybe in normal life you would treat them as an equal, but in writing you would treat them as inferior.
The Athenians define justice as being applicable only when two entities are of equal power.
The Athenians see Melos as inferior, and according to their definition of justice, believe that it should not be used in their situation.
The Athenians feel that they are a super-power, and should not be bothered with what they consider to be a nothing more than a nuisance. They have great confidence that the Lacedaemonian's will not come to Melos aid, and as such, they consider the island as so insignificant, that it is not even worth trying to make an ally.
Their view of the island as ridiculously weak is not entirely true, as when the Melians refuse to become the Athenian’s slaves, and Athens retaliates by holding a siege on Melos, the Melians manage to inflict unexpected damage upon the Athenian troops. It is only when there was internal treachery that they were defeated, and if not for the internal treachery, they may have survived.
However, since the Athenians did not know this in advance, and after, if they did not wipe out the Melians they believed that the world would consider them weak, they decided not to speak of justice when dealing with the Melians.

-bob

This might be a problem

Hey, I chose also chose "Why do the Athenians make it clear from the beginning that they do not want to speak of justice?" before I saw that Ellie had, and was wondering if I need to chose a different question.
I'm about halfway done with my answer and don't really have any idea what to write for any other question.
Sorry about this,
-bob :(

Interpretive Question

Hey, I chose "Why do the Athenians make it clear from the beginning that they do not want to speak of justice?" See you guys later...

Interpretive Q's

i chose the question
Why do the Melians put so much trust in the Lacedaemonian "sense of honor"?
thoght i'd let you know.

Pre-Reading Question And Answer

Why is it sometimes hard to remain neutral in an argument or fight? Do you respect people who try not to take sides in a dispute?


How strong are your opinions? Can you easily change your mind about something or someone?
In some cases people feel so strongly about their opinions that they can never be convinced to change. So when someone else confronts your way of looking at things and has a completely opposite view, you tend to erupt in their faces.
Because our opinions are so important to us we sometimes don't want to hear another point of view, and unfortunately this can lead to pre-judgment and hard headedness. We also don't get to see the good side to a person or situation.
But fortunately we can be convinced to see the opposite opinion of our own and could end up changing it.
So because of our strong beliefs, we don't want people telling us otherwise, but changing our opinions can come out to be a very good thing.
As for the second part of this question, I personally do respect people who try not to take sides in an argument. This is because I think that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but should also be able to see both sides of a conversation and not be judgmental.
So do you hear other people's opinions and thoughts, or are you hard headed and block out the voices of the rest of the world? I think that this is something that all of us can try to perfect a little bit more.

Life of Gardening Gloves

just wanted to post this on here.




This glove used to be a spotless piece of cowhide. It is now severed in various parts and caked with the dry remnants of the earth from endless days of toil. What once was a velvety soft outside is now tough, brittle and prickly; hardly protecting your hand from the harsh thorns of various weeds.
These hard working gloves envy the ones that keep our ten digits warm in the freezing cold of winter, the ones that are continuously soft and used year after year.
Nobody knows the agony that our beloved garden gloves go through, what they sacrifice so that our hands are kept in tact.
Pondering all these things makes me think that we should buy a new pair of gloves

interpretive questions

Hey, I haven't gotten the interpretive questions yet, and just wanted to make sure that the "Teacher in the most high" hadn't sent them out yet.
That's all,
-bob