The three preceding studies have at

The three preceding studies have attempted to show the methods by which Thucydides, in describing the facts, makes a sequence of logical relationships appear that, while not jeopardizing the demands of historical accuracy, give to those facts greater intelligibility and reveal implicit elements of his judgment on them. Such an outcome obviously has no value unless the facts have been firmly established beforehand. Thucydides states in 1.22 that he has been zealous about confirming the validity of his information for all the events of the war. There has never been any reason to doubt his claim. It must be said that he was, in this respect, a very privileged historian, since the potential documentation available to him was limitless.