Apophthegmata Laconica
Plutarch
Plutarch. Moralia, Vol. III. Babbitt, Frank Cole, translator. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1931 (printing).
When someone commended the maxim of Cleomenes, who, on being asked what a good king ought to do, said, To do good to his friends and evil to his enemies, Ariston said, How much better,
my good sir, to do good to our friends, and to make friends of our enemies? This, which is universally conceded to be one of Socrates’ maxims, [*](But not quite in these words; Cf. Plato, Republic, i. chap. ix. (335 B ff.), Crito, chap. x. (49 A ff.), Gorgias, 469 A-B and 475 B-D.) is also referred to Ariston. [*](A similar remark is attributed to Cleobulus by Diogenes Laertius, i. 91.)When someone inquired how many Spartans there were in all, he said, Enough to keep away our enemies. [*](Cf. the note on Moralia, 190 D (5), supra. )
When one of the Athenians read a memorial oration in praise of those who fell at the hands of the Spartans, he said, What kind of men, then, do you think ours must be who vanquished these? [*](Perhaps the remark of another man named Ariston who lived later.)
Archidamidas, in answer to a man who commended Charillus because he was gentle towards all alike, said, And how could any man be justly commended if he be gentle towards the wicked? [*](Cf.Moralia, 55 E and 537 D.)
When somebody found fault with Hecataeus the sophist because, when he was received as a member at the common table, he spoke not a word, Archidamidas said, You do not seem to realize that he who knows how to speak knows also the right time for speaking. [*](Cf. Plutarch’s Life of Lycurgus, chap. xx. (52 C).)
Archidamus, the son of Zeuxidamus, when someone inquired of him who were at the head of Sparta, said, The laws and the magistrates in accordance with the laws.
In answer to a man who praised a harper and expressed amazement at his ability, he said, My good sir, what honours shall you be able to offer to good men when you have such praise for a harper?
When someone, in introducing a musician to him, remarked, This man is a good musician, he said, And in this country of ours that man there rates as a good soup-maker, thus implying that there was no distinction between giving pleasure through the sound of instruments and giving it through the preparation of appetizing foods and soup. [*](Cf.Moralia, 223 F, infra (15), where the saying is attributed to Cleomenes.)