Agis and Cleomenes

And when Sosibius, who had the most influence among the king’s ministers, declared that they could not be sure of the mercenaries as long as Magas was alive, Cleomenes bade him have no concern on that point at least; for more than three thousand of the mercenaries were Peloponnesians and attached to himself, and if he but gave them a nod they would readily come to his side in arms.

At the time this speech won for Cleomenes no little faith in his good will and belief in his strength; but afterwards, when Ptolemy’s weakness intensified his cowardice, and, as is wont to happen where there is no sound judgment, His best course seemed to him to lie in fearing everybody and distrusting all men, it led the courtiers to be afraid of Cleomenes, on the ground that he had a strong following among the mercenaries;

and many of them were heard to say: There goes the lion up and down along these sheep. And such, in fact, he clearly was among the courtiers, eyeing with quiet contempt and closely watching what was going on.