These are the things about which we must take counsel, and we must not wait to indulge our resentment until that will no longer avail us, but must consider now how we may prevent such a disaster. For it is disgraceful that we, who in former times would not allow even free men the right of equal speech, are now openly tolerating licence of speech on the part of slaves.Others translate i)shgari/as as “political unity” and understand tw=n e)leuqe/rwn to refer to the allies of Sparta. But the passage is probably better taken as referring to the military harshness of the Spartans toward any and all with whom they came in contact, as, for instance, when Astyochus started to beat free men for speaking too freely (see Thuc. 8.84).