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enemies regarded his oaths and solemn treaties as more to be relied on



than the tie of friendship amongst themselves。 These same men; who



would shrink from too close intercourse with one another; delivered



themselves into the hands of Agesilaus without fear。 And lest the



assertion should excite discredit; I may name some illustrious



examples。 Such was Spithridates the Persian; who knew that



Pharnabazus;'1' whilst negotiating to marry the daughter of the great



king; was minded to seize his own daughter unwedded。 Resenting such



brutality; Spithridates delivered up himself; his wife; his children;



and his whole power; into the hands of Agesilaus。 Cotys'2' also; the



ruler of Paphlagonia; had refused to obey a summons from the king;



although he sent him the warrant of his right hand;'3' then fear came



upon him lest he should be seized; and either be heavily fined or die



the death; yet he too; simply trusting to an armistice; came to the



camp of Agesilaus and made alliance; and of his own accord chose to



take the field with Agesilaus; bringing a thousand horsemen and two



thousand targeteers。 Lastly; Pharnabazus'4' himself came and held



colloquy with Agesilaus; and openly agreed that if he were not himself



appointed general…in…chief of the royal forces he would revolt from



the king。 〃Whereas; if I do become general;〃 he added; 〃I mean to make



war upon you; Agesilaus; might and main;〃 thus revealing his



confidence that; say what he might; nothing would befall him contrary



to the terms of truce。 Of so intrinsic a value to all; and not least



to a general in the field; is the proud possession of an honest and



God…fearing character; known and recognised。 Thus far; as touching the



quality of piety。







'1' See 〃Hell。〃 III。 iv。 10; Plut。 〃Ages。〃 xi。 (Clough; iv。 9)。







'2' See 〃Hell。〃 IV。 i。 3; Plut。 〃Ages。〃 xi。 (Clough; iv。 13)。







'3' Diod。 xvi。 34。







'4' See 〃Hell。〃 IV。 i。 37。



















IV







To speak next of his justice'1' in affairs of money。 As to this; what



testimony can be more conclusive than the following? During the whole



of his career no charge of fraudulent dealing was ever lodged against



Agesilaus; against which set the many…voiced acknowledgmment of



countless benefits received from him。 A man who found pleasure in



giving away his own for the benefit of others was not the man to rob



another of his goods at the price of infamy。 Had he suffered from this



thirst for riches it would have been easier to cling to what belonged



to him than to take that to which he had no just title。 This man; who



was so careful to repay debts of gratitude; where'2' the law knows no



remedy against defaulters; was not likely to commit acts of robbery



which the law regards as criminal。 And as a matter of act Agesilaus



judged it not only wrong to forgo repayment of a deed of kindness;



but; where the means were ample; wrong also not to repay such debts



with ample interest。







'1' See Muller and Donaldson; 〃Hist。 Gk。 Lit。〃 ii。 196; note 2。







'2' Or; 〃a state of indebtedness beyond the reach of a tribunal。〃 See



    〃Cyrop。〃 I。 ii。 7。







The charge of embezzlement; could it be alleged; would no less outrage



all reason in the case of one who made over to his country the benefit



in full of grateful offerings owed solely to himself。 Indeed the very



fact that; when he wished to help the city or his friends with money;



he might have done so by the aid of others; goes a long way to prove



his indifference to the lure of riches; since; had he been in the



habit of selling his favour; or of playing the part of benefactor for



pay; there had been no room for a sense of indebtedness。'3' It is only



the recipient of gratuitous kindness who is ever ready to minister to



his benefactor; both in return for the kindness itself and for the



confidence implied in his selection as the fitting guardian of a good



deed on deposit。'4'







'3' Or; 〃no one would have felt to owe him anything。〃







'4' See 〃Cyrop。〃 VI。 i。 35; Rutherford; 〃New Phrynichus;〃 p。 312。







Again; who more likely to put a gulf impassable between himself and



the sordid love of gain'5' than he; who nobly preferred to be stinted



of his dues'6' rather than snatch at the lion's share unjustly? It is



a case in point that; being pronounced by the state to be the rightful



heir to his brother's'7' wealth; he made over one half to his maternal



relatives because he saw that they were in need; and to the truth of



this assertion all Lacedaemon is witness。 What; too; was his answer to



Tithraustes when the satrap offered him countless gifts if he would



but quit the country? 〃Tithraustes; with us it is deemed nobler for a



ruler to enrich his army than himself; it is expected of him to wrest



spoils from the enemy rather than take gifts。〃







'5' Or; 〃base covetousness。〃







'6' Or reading; {sun auto to gennaio} (with Breitenbach); 〃in



    obedience to pure generosity。〃 See 〃Cyrop。〃 VIII。 iii。 38。







'7' I。e。 Agis。 See Plut。 〃Ages。〃 iv。



















V







Or again; reviewing the divers pleasures which master human beings; I



defy any one to name a single one to which Agesilaus was enslaved:



Agesilaus; who regarded drunkenness as a thing to hold aloof from like



madness; and immoderate eating like the snare of indolence。 Even the



double portion'1' allotted to him at the banquet was not spent on his



own appetite; rather would be make distribution of the whole;



retaining neither portion for himself。 In his view of the matter this



doubling of the king's share was not for the sake of surfeiting; but



that the king might have the wherewithal to honour whom he wished。 And



so; too; sleep'2' he treated not as a master; but as a slave;



subservient to higher concerns。 The very couch he lay upon must be



sorrier than that of any of his company or he would have blushed for



shame; since in his opinion it was the duty of a leader to excel all



ordinary mortals in hardihood; not in effeminacy。 Yet there were



things in which he was not ashamed to take the lion's share; as; for



example; the sun's heat in summer; or winter's cold。 Did occasion ever



demaned of his army moil and toil; he laboured beyond all others as a



thing of course; believing that such ensamples are a consolation to



the rank and file。 Or; to put the patter compendiously; Agesilaus



exulted in hard work: indolence he utterly repudiated。







'1' See 〃Pol。 Lac。〃 xv。 4。 See J。 J。 Hartman; 〃An。 Xen。〃 257。







'2' See Hom。 〃Il。〃 ii。 24; {ou khro pannukhion eudein boulephoron



    andra}; 〃to sleep all night through beseemeth not one that is a



    counsellor。〃W。 Leaf。







And; as touching the things of Aphrodite; if for nothing else; at any



rate for the marvel of it; the self…restraint of the man deserves to



be put on record。 It is easy to say that to abstain from that which



excites no desire is but human; yet in the case of Megabates; the son



of Spithridates; he was moved by as genuine a love as any passionate



soul may feel for what is lovely。 Now; it being a national custom



among the Persians to salute those whom they honour with a kiss;



Megabates endeavoured so to salute Agesilaus; but the latter with much



show of battle; resisted〃No kiss might he accept。〃'3' I ask whether



such an incident does not reveal on the face of it the self…respect of



the man; and that of no vulgar order。'4' Megabates; who looked upon



himself as in some sense dishonoured; for the future endeavoured not



to offend in like sort again。'5' Whereupon Agesilaus appealed to one



who was his comrade to persuade Megabates again to honour him with his



regard; and the comrade; so appealed to; demanding; 〃If I persuade



him; will you bestow on him a kiss?〃 Agesilaus fell into a silence;



but presently exclaimed: 〃No; by the Twins; not if I might this very



instant become the swiftest…footed; strongest; and handsomest of



men。'6' And as to that battle I swear by all the gods I would far



rather fight it over again than that everything on which I set my eyes



might turn to gold。〃'7'







'3' See Plut。 〃Ages。〃 (Clough; iv。 p。 13 foll。)







'4' Reading; {kai lian gennikon}; or; 〃a refinement of self…respect;〃



    〃a self…respect perhaps even over…sensitive。〃







'5' Lit。 〃made no further attempt to offer kisses。〃







'6' See Plut。 〃Ages。〃 ii。 (Clough; iv。 p。 2): 〃He is said to have been



    a little man of a contemptible pres

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