History of the Peloponnesian War

And they reviewed his other acts, in whatever on any occasion he had lived beyond the established usages; and especially, that on the tripod at Delphi, which the Greeks dedicated as the first-fruits of the spoil of the Medes, he had formerly on his own individual responsibility presumed to have the following distich inscribed:—

3. The Greek Pausanias, victor o'er the Mede,
4. To Phoebus this memorial decreed.

This distich then the Lacedaemonians at the very time erased from the tripod, and engraved by name all the cities that had joined in overthrowing the barbarian, and had dedicated the offering. This, however, was considered to be an act of guilt in Pausanias; and since he had put himself in his present position, it appeared to have been done in much closer keeping with his present views. They also heard that he was tampering with the Helots; and it was the fact too;

for he was promising them liberation and citizenship, if they would join in an insurrection, and in carrying out the whole of his plan. But not even then did they think right to [*]( Or, even though they believed some of the Helots who had informed against him. ) believe even any of the Helots [themselves] as informers, and to proceed to any great severity against him;