Regum et imperatorum apophthegmata

Archidamus, the son of Agesilaus, on seeing the missile shot by a catapult, which had been brought then for the first time from Sicily, cried out, Great Heavens ! Man’s valour is no more ! [*](Cf. Moralia, 219 A, infra.)

The Younger Agis, referring to the assertion of Demades that jugglers use the Spartan swords for

When the Ephors ordered him to turn over soldiers to a traitor to lead, he said that he did not entrust another’s men to the man that betrayed his own. [*](Attributed to Agis II. in Moralia, 215 C.)

Somebody promised to give to Cleomenes cocks that would die fighting, but he retorted, No, don’t, but give me those that kill fighting. [*](Cf. Moralia, 224 B, infra, and Plutarch’s Life of Lycurgus, chap. xx. (52 E).)

When Paedaretus was not chosen to be one of the three hundred, [*](Cf. Herodotus, vii. 205, and viii. 124; Thucydides, v. 72; Xenophon, Constitution of Sparta, 4.3.) an honour which ranked highest in the State, he departed, cheerful and smiling, with the remark that he was glad if the State possessed three hundred citizens better than himself. [*](Cf. Moralia, 231 B, and Plutarch’s Life of Lycurgus, chap. xxv. (55 C).)

When Damonidas was assigned to the last place in the chorus by the director, he said, Good ! You have discovered a way by which even this place may come to be held in honour. [*](Cf. Moralia, 149 A and 219 E. A similar remark is attributed to Agesilaus in Moralia, 208 D, and the idea is also accredited to Aristippus by Diogenes Laertius, ii. 73. )

Nicostratus, the general of the Argives, [*](At the time of ARchidamus III., 261-338 B.C.) was urged by Archidamus to betray a certain stronghold, his reward to be a large sum of money and marriage with any Spartan woman he wished, save only the royal family; but his reply was that Archidamus was not descended from Heracles, for Heracles, as he went about, punished the bad men, but Archidamus made the good men bad.

Eudamidas, seeing Xenocrates, already well on in years, discussing philosophy with his pupils in the Academy, and being informed that he was seeking after virtue, said, And when will he make use of it? [*](Cf. Moralia, 220 D.)

At another time, after he had listened to a philosopher who argued that the wise man is the only good general, he said,The speech is admirable, but the speaker has never been amid the blare of trumpets. [*](Ibid., 220 D infra.)

Antiochus, when he was an ephor, heard that Philip had given to the Messenians their land, whereupon he asked whether Philip had also given them the power to prevail in fighting to keep it. [*](Repeated Ibid., 217 F.)

Antalcidas, retorting to the Athenian who called the Spartans unlearned, said, At any rate,

When another Athenian said to him, You cannot deny that we have many a time put you to rout from the Cephisus, he said, But we have never put you to rout from the Eurotas ! [*](Cf. Moralia, 217 D and 810 F, Plutarch’s Life of Agesilaus, chap. xxxi. (613 D). The Cephisus was a river near Athens, and the Eurotas a river near Sparta.)