To the extent that it grew and deep

To the extent that it grew and deepened, the intention (yvóoum) that gives unity to the events takes on a more general significance. It ceases to be an intention and becomes the principle behind a series of acts; it ceases to refer to a psychology, of any type, and constructs, beyond the actors and their motivations, deep connections between the facts. The extreme clairvoyance of the speakers that Thucydides puts on stage can surely be explained to a large extent, by a stylistic invention, by virtue of which he attributes to these speakers, in advance, the clear awareness of all the possibilities that often, he had to discover alone during the uncertain course of events.