Agesilaus

After this, Pharnabazus desired to have a conference with him, and Apollophanes of Cyzicus, who was a guest-friend of both, brought the two together. Agesilaüs, with his friends, came first to the appointed place, and throwing himself down in a shady place where the grass was deep, there awaited Pharnabazus.

And when Pharnabazus came, although soft cushions and broidered rugs had been spread for him, he was ashamed to see Agesilaüs reclining as he was, and threw himself down likewise, without further ceremony, on the grassy ground, although he was clad in raiment of wonderful delicacy and dyes. After mutual salutations, Pharnabazus had plenty of just complaints to make, since, although he had rendered the Lacedaemonians many great services in their war against the Athenians, his territory was now being ravaged by them.

But Agesilaüs, seeing the Spartans with him bowed to the earth with shame and at a loss for words (for they saw that Pharnabazus was a wronged man), said: We, O Pharnabazus, during our former friendship with the King, treated what belongs to him in a friendly way, and now that we have become his enemies, we treat it in a hostile way. Accordingly, seeing that thou also desirest to be one of the King’s chattels, we naturally injure him through thee.

But from the day when thou shalt deem thyself worthy to be called a friend and ally of the Greeks instead of a slave of the King, consider this army, these arms and ships, and all of us, to be guardians of thy possessions and of thy liberty, without which nothing in the world is honourable or even worthy to be desired.

Upon this, Pharnabazus declared to him his purposes. As for me, indeed, he said, if the King shall send out another general in my stead, I will be on your side; but if he entrusts me with the command, I will spare no efforts to punish and injure you in his behalf. On hearing this, Agesilaüs was delighted, and said, as he seized his hand and rose up with him, O Pharnabazus, I would that such a man as thou might be our friend rather than our enemy.[*](Cf. Xenophon, Hell. iv. 1, 28-38, where Agesilaüs adds a promise to respect, in future, the property of Pharnabazus, even in case of war.)