History of the Peloponnesian War

Demosthenes, when he saw the Lacedaemonians bent to assault him both from their galleys and with their army by land, prepared also to defend the place. And when he had drawn up his galleys, all that were left him, to the land, he placed them athwart the fort and armed the mariners that belonged to them with bucklers, though bad ones, and for the greatest part made of osiers. For they had no means in a desert place to provide themselves of arms. Those they had they took out of a piratical boat of thirty oars and a light-horseman of the Messenians, which came by chance. And the men of arms of the Messenians were about forty, which he made use of amongst the rest.

The greatest part therefore, both of armed and unarmed, he placed on the parts of the wall toward the land which were of most strength and commanded them to make good the place against the land-forces if they assaulted it. And he himself, with sixty men of arms chosen out of the whole number and a few archers, came forth from the fort to the sea-side in that part where he most expected their landing, which part was of troublesome access and stony and lay to the wide sea. But because their wall was there the weakest, he thought they would be drawn to adventure for that. For neither did the Athenians think they should ever have been mastered with galleys, which caused them to make the place [to the seaward] the less strong;

and if the Peloponnesians should by force come to land, they made no other account but the place would be lost.

Coming therefore in this part to the very brink of the sea, he put in order his men of arms and encouraged them with words to this effect:

You that participate with me in the present danger, let not any of you in this extremity go about to seem wise and reckon every peril that now besetteth us, but let him rather come up to the enemy with little circumspection and much hope and look for his safety by that. For things that are come once to a pinch, as these are, admit not debate, but a speedy hazard.

And [yet] if we stand it out, and betray not our advantages with fear of the number of the enemy, I see well enough that most things are with us.

For I make account, the difficulty of their landing makes for us, which, as long as we abide ourselves, will help us; but if we retire, though the place be difficult, yet when there is none to impeach them they will land well enough. For whilst they are in their galleys, they are most easy to be fought withal; and in their disbarking, being but on equal terms, their number is not greatly to be feared;

for though they be many, yet they must fight but by few for want of room to fight in. And for an army to have odds by land is another matter than when they are to fight from galleys, where they stand in need of so many accidents to fall out opportunely from the sea. So that I think their great difficulties do but set them even with our small number.

And for you, that be Athenians and by experience of disbarking against others know that if a man stand it out and do not fear of the sowsing of a wave or the menacing approach of a galley give back of himself, he can never be put back by violence; I expect that you should keep your ground and by fighting it out upon the very edge of the water preserve both yourselves and the fort.