The Athenians said that the Melians would do well to worry about the present and not borrow trouble worrying about the future. The Melians responded by saying that people facing death or slavery often have dreams of salvation.
The Athenians said that they knew that the Melians were Spartans, and that it was no good pretending that the Melians had not already been involved in the war, because of the simple fact that they were Spartans. And, they said, the Melians should not expect justice, because justice existed only between equals: The truth of the world is that the strong take what they want and the weak give up what they must.
The Melians replied that the Athenians might find themselves facing the same unhappy truth; if Sparta won the war, would she not pay back Athens for what she was about to do to Melos? The Athenians replied that it was known that Sparta did not ravage states whom she conquered; besides, they said, our purpose here is to save you, not destroy you. We need your city.
The Melians said that they understood that the Athenians enjoyed mastery, but the Melians had no interest in being slaves. They enjoyed being free people. And besides, the Melians said, could they not live as neutrals in the war and be friends to both sides?
No, the Athenians replied, too many of our allies think that we are letting you live in peace because we are afraid of you, when the truth is that you are weak and we are taking over your little island, since we are already masters of the sea. So you had better surrender to our wishes or die.
