The quotation argues that military power depends not only on weapons and soldiers but on the financial resources required to make them effective. Money supports recruitment, equipment, supplies, transport and the ability to continue fighting over an extended period. A state with substantial resources can therefore possess strategic advantages that are not immediately visible from the size of its armed forces alone.

In Thucydides’ account, the argument is made by the Spartan king Archidamus while urging caution before war with Athens. He points to Athens’ tribute-paying allies and stresses the particular importance of finance when a continental power confronts a maritime one.

The passage highlights the connection between economic capacity and military strategy. Arms cannot operate independently of the systems that fund and sustain them, making access to money and resources an important part of a state’s ability to wage prolonged war.