史上最令人不寒而栗的言论有哪些？公元前416年，雅典与斯巴达之间的伯罗奔尼撒战争正处于白热化阶段。

What were the most chilling quotes ever said?

史上最令人不寒而栗的言论有哪些？

公元前416年，雅典与斯巴达之间的伯罗奔尼撒战争正处于白热化阶段。

小小的岛屿城邦梅洛斯保持中立，对这场战争置身事外。然而，仅仅因为他们是多利亚人（与斯巴达人同属一个民族），雅典认为他们太过危险，不能任其自由发展。

公元前416年夏天，雅典派兵攻占该岛，并对城市实施围城。随后，雅典使者向梅洛斯人发出最后通牒：无条件投降并向雅典缴纳贡赋，否则将被毁灭。

梅利安人多次慷慨陈词，试图说服雅典人停止进攻。他们辩称自己是中立国家，此次进攻将激起其他希腊城邦对雅典的敌意，且不战而降是懦夫行为。雅典人逐一驳回了这些论点。

雅典人最终对他们的论点感到厌倦，并以以下演讲摊牌：

“对于我们自己，我们不会用虚伪的借口来烦扰你们——

无论是关于我们有权建立帝国因为我们推翻了米底人，还是现在攻击你们是因为你们对我们犯下了错误——

并发表一篇不会被相信的长篇大论； 

我们希望你们也不要试图通过声称自己并未加入斯巴达人（尽管你们是他们的殖民地），

或声称并未对我们造成伤害来影响我们，而是着眼于现实可行之事，考量双方的真实意图；

因为你们与我们一样清楚，在这个世界上，

正义只存在于实力相当的双方之间，

而强者做他们能做的事，弱者只能承受他们必须承受的。”

世界上第一个民主国家围攻梅洛斯一年。当这座城市最终投降时，成年男子被处决，妇女和儿童被奴役，雅典人在该岛上建立了殖民地。

正如雅典人所指出的，力量确实就是正义。

The year is 416 BC, and the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta is at its height.

The tiny island city-state of Melos remains neutral, comfortably aloof from the conflict. However, by the mere fact that they were Dorians (the same ethnic group as the Spartans), Athens deemed them too dangerous to be left alone.

In the summer of 416, Athens sent an army to the island, and laid the city under siege. They then sent emissaries to the Melians, who gave the city an ultimatum: surrender unconditionally and send tribute to Athens, or be destroyed.

The Melians made multiple impassioned arguments as to why the Athenians shouldn’t continue their attack. They argue that they’re a neutral state, that this attack will foster hostility towards Athens by other Greek states, and that it would be cowardly for them to submit without a fight. The Athenians rejected all of these arguments in turn.

The Athenians eventually grew tired of their arguments, and laid their cards on the table with the following speech:

“For ourselves, we shall not trouble you with specious pretenses — either of how we have a right to our empire because we overthrew the Mede, or are now attacking you because of wrong that you have done us — and make a long speech which would not be believed; and in return we hope that you, instead of thinking to influence us by saying that you did not join the Spartans, although their colonists, or that you have done us no wrong, will aim at what is feasible, holding in view the real sentiments of us both; since you know as well as we do that right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.”

The world’s first democracy besieged Melos for a year. When the city finally surrendered, the adult men were executed, the women and children enslaved, and an Athenian colony planted on the island.

As the Athenians so succinctly pointed out, Might certainly was Right.