Plutarch's essays and miscellanies, Vol. 1 · Plutarch
LACONIC APOPHTHEGMS; OR REMARKABLE SAYINGS OF THE SPARTANS.
But the meanness of his habit brought him into contempt with the people of that country; for they, according to their bad notions of princes, expected that the king of Sparta should appear like the Persian, gaudily attired. But in a little time he sufficiently convinced them that majesty and glory were to be gotten by prudence and courage. When he found his men discouraged at the number of the enemy (for they were 200,000) and their own fewness, just before the engagement, without any man’s privity, he contrived how to encourage them: in the hollow of his left hand he wrote VICTORY, and taking the liver from the priest, he put it into that hand, and held it a pretty while, pretending he was in doubt and perplexity at some appearance, till the characters were imprinted on the flesh; and then he showed it to the soldiers, telling them the Gods gave certain signs of victory by these characters. Upon which, thinking they had sure evidence of good success, they marched resolutely to the battle. When the enemy much exceeded them in number and were making an entrenchment round his camp, and Nectabius, whom then he assisted, urged him to fight; I would not, said he, hinder our enemies from making their number as small as ours. And when the trench was almost drawn round, ordering his army to the space between, and so fighting upon equal terms, with those few soldiers he had he routed and killed abundance of the enemy, and sent home a great treasure. Dying on his voyage from Egypt, he commanded his attendants not to make any figure or representation of his body; For, said he, if I have done any brave action, that will preserve my memory; if not, neither will a thousand statues, the works of base mechanics.
_Of Agesipolis the Son of Cleombrotus._ Agesipolis the son of Cleombrotus, when one told him that Philip had razed Olynthus in a few days, said, Well, but he is not able to build such another in twice that time. To one saying that whilst he was king he himself was an hostage with some other youths, and not their wives or children, he replied, Very good, for it is fit we ourselves should suffer for our own faults. When he designed to send for some whelps from home, and one said, Sir, none must be carried out of the country, he replied, Nor men heretofore, but now they may. _Of Agesipolis the Son of Pausanias._ Agesipolis the son of Pausanias, when the Athenians appealed to the Megarians as arbitrators of the differences between them, said, It is a shame, Athenians, that those who were once the lords of all Greece should understand what is right and just less than the people of Megara. _Of Agis the Son of Archidamus._
Agis the son of Archidamus, when the Ephors gave orders, Go take the youth, and follow this man into his own country, and he shall guide thee to the very citadel, said: How can it be prudent to trust so many youths to the fidelity of him who betrays his own country? Being asked what art was chiefly learned in Sparta, To know, he replied, how to govern and to be governed. He used to say, The Spartans do not enquire how many the enemy are, but where they are. At Mantinea, being advised not to fight the enemy, who exceeded him in number, he said, It is necessary for him to fight a great many that would rule a great many. To one enquiring how many the Spartans were, Enough, he replied, to keep rascals at a distance. Marching by the walls of Corinth, and perceiving them to be high and strong and stretching out to a great length, he said, What women live there? To an orator that said speech was the best thing, he rejoined, You then, when you are silent, are worth nothing.
When the Argives, after they had been once beaten, faced him more boldly than before; on seeing many of the allies disheartened, he said, Courage, sirs! for when we conquerors shake, what do you think is the condition of the conquered? To an ambassador from the Abderites, after he had ended his long speech, enquiring what answer he should carry to his city, he replied, This: As long as you talked, so long I quietly heard. Some commending the Eleans for exact justice in determining the prizes at the Olympian games, he said, What great wonder is it, that in four years they can be just one day? To some that told him he was envied by the heirs of the other royal family, Well, said he, their own misfortunes will torment them, and my own and my friends’ success besides. When one advised him to give the flying enemy room to run, he said, How shall we fight those that stand to it and resist, if we dare not engage those whom their cowardice makes fly? When one proposed a way to free Greece, well contrived indeed but hard to be brought about, he said, Friend, thy words want an army and a treasure.
To one saying, Philip won’t let you set foot upon any other part of Greece, he returned, Sir, we have room enough in our own country. An ambassador from Perinthus to Lacedaemon, after a long tedious speech, asking what answer he should carry back to the Perinthians, he said, What but this?—that thou couldst hardly find an end to thy talk, and I kept silent. He went by himself ambassador to Philip; and Philip saying, What! but one? he replied, I am an ambassador but to one. An old man, observing that the ancient laws were neglected and that new evil customs crept in, said to him, when he was now grown old himself, All things here at Sparta are turned topsy-turvy. He replied with a joke: If it is so, it is agreeable to reason; for when I was a boy, I heard my father say that all things were then topsy-turvy; and he heard his father say the same; and it is no wonder if succeeding times are worse than the preceding; but it is a wonder if they happen to be better, or but just as good. Being asked how a man could be always free, he replied, If he contemns death. _Of Agis the Younger._ Agis the Younger, when Demades said, The Spartans’ swords are so short that our jugglers can easily swallow them, replied, Yet the Spartans can reach their enemies with these swords. A base fellow often asking who was the bravest of the Spartans, he said, He that is most unlike thee.
_Of Agis the Last._ Agis, the last king of Lacedaemon, being taken and condemned by the Ephors without hearing, as he was led to the gallows, saw one of the officers weeping. Do not weep for me, he said, who, being so unjustly, so barbarously condemned, am in a better condition than my murderers. And having spoken thus, he quietly submitted himself to the halter. _Of Acrotatus._ Acrotatus, when his parents commanded him to join in some unjust action, refused for some time; but when they grew importunate, he said: When I was under your power I had no notion of justice, but now you have delivered me to my country and her laws, and to the best of your power have taught me loyalty and justice, I shall endeavor to follow these rather than you. And since you would have me to do that which is best, and since just actions are best for a private man and much more for a governor, I shall do what you would have me, and refuse what you command. _Of Alcamenes the Son of Teleclus._ Alcamenes the son of Teleclus, being asked how a ruler might best secure his government, replied, By slighting gain. And to another enquiring why he refused the presents the Messenians made him he said, Because, if I had taken them, I and the laws could never have agreed. When one said that though he had wealth enough he lived but meanly, he replied, Well, it is a glory for one that hath abundance to live as reason not as appetite directs.
_Of Alexandridas._ Alexandridas, the son of Leo, said to one that was much concerned at his banishment from the city, Good sir, be not concerned that you must leave the city, but that you have left justice. To one that talked to the Ephors very pertinently but a great deal too much he said, Sir, your discourse is very good, but ill-timed. And when one asked him why they let their Helot slaves cultivate the fields, and did not take care of them themselves, he replied, Because we acquired our land not caring for it but for ourselves. Another saying, Desire of reputation causes abundance of mischief, and those are happy that are free from it; Then, he subjoined, it follows that villains are happy; for do you think that he that commits sacrilege or doth an injury takes any care for credit and reputation? Another asking why in a battle the Spartans venture so boldly into danger, Because, said he, we train ourselves to have a reverential regard for our lives, not, as others do, to tremble for them. Another demanding why the judges took so many days to pass sentence in a capital cause, and why he that was acquitted still remained liable to be brought to trial, he replied: They consult so long, because if they make a mistake in judgment and condemn a man to death, they cannot correct their judgment; and the accused still remains liable, because this provision might enable them to give even a better judgment than before.
_Of Anaxander the Son of Eurycrates._ Anaxander, the son of Eurycrates, to one asking him why the Spartans laid up no money in the exchequer, replied, that the keepers of it might not be tempted to be knaves. _Of Anaxilas._ Anaxilas, when one wondered for what reason the Ephors did not rise up to the king, since the kings made them, said, It is for the same reason for which they are appointed Ephors (or overseers). _Of Androclidas._ Androclidas a Spartan, being maimed in his leg, enlisted in the army; and when some refused him because he was maimed, he said, It must not be those that can run away, but those that can stand to it, that must fight the enemy. _Of Antalcidas._
Antalcidas, when he was to be initiated in the Samothracian mysteries, and was asked by the priest what great sin he had committed in all his life, replied, If I have committed any, the Gods know it already. To an Athenian that called the Lacedaemonians illiterate he said, True; for we alone have learned no ill from you. Another Athenian saying, We have often beat you back from the Cephissus, he subjoined, But we never repulsed you from the Eurotas. To another demanding how one might please most men, he replied, By speaking what delights, and doing what profits them. A Sophist being about to read him an encomium of Hercules, he said, Why, who has blamed him? To Agesilaus, when he was wounded in a battle by the Thebans, he said, Sir, you have a fine reward for forcing them to learn the art of war; for, by the many skirmishes Agesilaus had with them, they learned discipline and became good soldiers. He said, The youth are the walls of Sparta, and the points of their spears its bounds. To one enquiring why the Lacedaemonians fought with such short swords, he replied, We come up close to our enemies. _Of Antiochus._ Antiochus, one of the Ephors, when he heard Philip had bestowed some lands on the Messenians, said, Well, but hath Philip also given them forces, that they may be able to defend his gift?
_Of Aregeus._ Aregeus, when some praised not their own but other men’s wives, said: Faith, about virtuous women there should be no common talk; and what beauty they have none but their own husbands should understand. As he was walking through Selinus, a city of Sicily, he saw this epitaph upon a tomb,— Those that extinguished the tyrannic flame, Surprised by war and hasty fate, Though they are still alive in lasting fame, Lie buried near Selinus’ gate;— and said: You died deservedly for quenching it when already in a flame; for you should have hindered it from coming to a blaze. _Of Ariston._ Ariston, when one commended the saying of Cleomenes,—who, being asked what a good king should do, replied, Good turns to his friends, and evil to his enemies,—said: How much better is it, sir, to do good to our friends, and make our enemies our friends! Though upon all hands it is agreed Socrates spoke this first, yet he hath the credit of it too. To one asking how many the Spartans were in number he replied, Enough to chase our enemies. An Athenian making a funeral oration in praise of those that fell by the hand of the Lacedaemonians, he said, What brave fellows then were ours, that conquered these! _Of Archidamidas._ Archidamidas said to one commending Charilas for being kind to all alike, How can he deserve commendation, that is gentle to the wicked and unjust? When one was angry with Hecataeus the Sophist because when admitted to the public entertainment he said nothing, he said, Sir, you seem not to understand that he that knows how to speak knows also when to speak.
_Of Archidamus the Son of Zeuxidamus._ Archidamus the son of Zeuxidamus, when one asked him who were governors at Sparta, replied, The laws, and the magistrates according to those laws. To one that praised a fiddler and admired his skill he said, How must you prize brave men, when you can give a fiddler such a commendation! When one recommending a musician to him said, This man plays well upon the harp, he returned, And we have this man who makes broth well;—as if it were no more to raise pleasure and tickle with a sound than with meats and broths. To one that promised to make his wine sweet he said, To what purpose? for we shall spend the more, and ruin our public mess. When he besieged Corinth, seeing some hares started under the very walls, he said to his soldiers, Our enemies may be easily surprised. Two choosing him arbitrator, he brought them both into the temple of Minerva of the Brazen House, and made them swear to stand to his determination; and when they had both sworn, he said, I determine that you shall not go out of this temple, till you have ended all the differences between you. Dionysius the Sicilian tyrant sending his daughters some very rich apparel, he refused it, saying, When this is on, I am afraid they will look ugly and deformed. When he saw his son rashly engaging the Athenians, he said, Pray get more strength or less spirit.
_Of Archidamus the Son of Agesilaus._ Archidamus the son of Agesilaus, when Philip after the battle at Chaeronea sent him a haughty letter, returned this answer, If you measure your shadow, you will find it no greater than before the victory. And being asked how much land the Spartans possessed, he said, As much as their spears reach. Periander, a physician, being well skilled in his profession and of good credit, but writing very bad poems, he said to him, Why, Periander, instead of a good physician are you eager to be called a bad poet? In the war with Philip, when some advised him to fight at some distance from his own country, he replied, Let us not mind that, but whether we shall fight bravely and beat our enemies. To some who commended him for routing the Arcadians he said, It had been better if we had been too hard for them in policy rather than in strength. When he invaded Arcadia, understanding that the Eleans were ready to oppose him, he wrote thus: Archidamus to the Eleans; It is good to be quiet. The allies in the Peloponnesian war consulting what treasure would be sufficient to carry on the war, and desiring to set the tax, he said, War cannot be put on a certain allowance. As soon as ever he saw a dart shot out of an engine brought from Sicily, he cried out, Good God! true valor is gone for ever. When the Greeks refused to obey him or to stand to those conditions which he had made with Antigonus and Craterus the Macedonians, but would be free, alleging that the Spartans would prove more rigorous lords than the Macedonians, he said: A sheep always uses the same voice, but a man various and many, till he hath perfected his designs.
_Of Astycratidas._ Astycratidas, after Agis the king was beaten by Antigonus at Megalopolis, was asked, What will you Spartans do? will you serve the Macedonians? He replied, Why so, can Antipater hinder us from dying in the defence of Sparta? _Of Bias._ Bias being surprised by an ambush that Iphicrates the Athenian general had laid, and his soldiers demanding what must be done, he replied, You must provide for your own safety, and I must fight manfully and die. _Of Brasidas._ Brasidas catching a mouse amongst some dry figs, the mouse bit him; upon which he let her go, and said to his companions, There is nothing so little but it may preserve itself, if it dares resist the invaders. In a battle, being shot through the shield into the body, he drew the dart out and with it killed the enemy. And one asking how his wound came, he replied, By the treachery of my shield. As he was leading forth his army, he wrote to the Ephors, I will accomplish what I wish in this war, or I will die for it. Being killed as he fought to free the Greeks in Thrace, the ambassadors that were sent to Sparta to condole his loss made a visit to his mother Argileonis. And the first question she asked was, whether Brasidas died bravely. And the Thracians extolling him and saying there was no such man in the world; You mistake, sir, said she, it is true, Brasidas was a good man, but Sparta can show many who are better.
_Of Damonidas._ Damonidas, when the master of the festival set him in the lowest place in the choral dance, said, Well, sir, you have found a way to make this place, which was infamous before, noble and honorable. _Of Damis._ Damis to some letters that were sent to him by Alexander, intimating that he should vote Alexander a God, returned this answer: We are content that Alexander (if he will) be called a God. _Of Damindas._ Damindas, when Philip invaded Peloponnesus, and one said that the Spartans would suffer great mischiefs unless they accepted his proposals, said, Thou woman-man, what misery can we suffer that despise death? _Of Dercyllidas._ Dercyllidas, being sent ambassador to Pyrrhus,—who was then with his army on the borders of Sparta, and required them either to receive their king Cleonymus, or he would make them know they were no better than other men,—replied, If he is a God, we do not fear him, for we have committed no fault; if a man, we are as good as he. _Of Demaratus._
Demaratus,—when Orontes talked very roughly to him, and one said, Demaratus, Orontes uses you very roughly,—replied, I have no reason to be angry, for those that speak to please do the mischief, not those that talk out of malice. To one enquiring why they disgrace those that lose their shields in a battle and not those that lose their head-pieces or breastplates, he answered, Because these serve for their private safety only, but their shield for the common defence and strength of the whole army. Hearing one play upon the harp, he said, The man seems to play the fool well. In a certain assembly, when he was asked whether he held his tongue because he was a fool or for want of words, he replied, A fool cannot hold his tongue. When one asked him why being king he fled Sparta, he answered, Because the laws rule there. A Persian having by many presents enticed the boy that he loved from him, and saying, Spartan, I have caught your love; No, faith, he answered, but you have bought him. One having revolted from the king of Persia, and by Demaratus’s persuasion returning again to his obedience, and the king designing his death, Demaratus said: It is dishonorable, O king, whilst he was an enemy not to be able to punish him for his revolt, and to kill him now he is a friend. To a parasite of the king that often jeered him about his exile he said: Sir, I will not fight you, for you have lost your post in life.[179]
_Of Emprepes._ Emprepes, one of the Ephors, cut out two of the nine strings of Phrynis the musician’s harp with a hatchet, saying, Do not abuse music. _Of Epaenetus._ Epaenetus said that liars were the cause of all villanies and injustice in the world. _Of Euboidas._ Euboidas, hearing some commend another man’s wife, disliked it and said, Strangers who are not of the house should never speak of the manner of any woman. _Of Eudamidas the Son of Archidamus._ Eudamidas, the son of Archidamus and brother of Agis, seeing Xenocrates, now grown old, philosophizing in the Academy with some of his acquaintance, asked what old man that was. And it being answered, He is a wise man, and one of those that seek after virtue; he replied, When will he use it, if he is seeking of it now? Another time, when he heard a philosopher discoursing that none but a learned man could be a good general, he said, Indeed the discourse is admirable, but he that makes it is of no credit in this matter, for he hath never heard a trumpet sound. Just as Xenocrates had finished his discourse, Eudamidas came into his school, and when one of his companions said, As soon as we came he ended; So he ought, he replied, if he had spoken all that was needful on the subject. And the other saying, Yet it were a pleasant thing to hear him, he replied, If we visited one that had supped already, should we desire him to sit down again? When one asked him why, when all the citizens voted a war with the Macedonians, he appeared for peace, he answered, Because I have no mind to convince them of their mistake.
And when another encouraged them to this war, mentioning their various victories over the Persians, he said, Sir, you appear not to see that this would be as absurd as to set upon fifty wolves because you have beaten a thousand sheep. A musician playing very well, some asked him what manner of man he was in his opinion, and he answered, A great seducer in a small matter. Hearing one commending Athens, he said, Who could have reason to praise that city which no man ever loved because he had been made better in it? An Argive saying that the Spartans being taken from their own customs grew worse by travel, he replied, But you, when you come into Sparta, do not return worse, but much better. When Alexander ordered by public proclamation in the Olympic games, that all exiles whatever, except the Thebans, had free liberty to return to their own country, Eudamidas said: This is a woful proclamation to you Thebans, but yet honorable; for of all the Grecians Alexander fears only you. Being asked why before a battle they sacrificed to the Muses, he replied, That our brave actions may be worthily recorded. _Of Eurycratidas the Son of Anaxandridas._ Eurycratidas the son of Anaxandridas, when one asked him why the Ephor sat every day to determine causes about contracts, replied, That we may learn to keep our word even with our enemies.
Text from Project Gutenberg, public domain in the United States.