Apophthegmata Laconica

Plutarch

Plutarch. Moralia, Vol. III. Babbitt, Frank Cole, translator. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1931 (printing).

Agesipolis, the son of Pausanias, when the Athenians

offered to accept the city of Megara as arbitrator regarding some complaints which they had each against the other, said, It is a shame, men of Athens, that those who have held the hegemony of the Greeks should know less about justice than the Megarians.

Once upon a time the Ephors said to Agis the son of Archidamus, Take the young men and march against the country of this man here. He will himself guide you to its citadel. And how, sirs, said Agis, is it right to entrust so many youths to a man who is betraying his own country? [*](See the note on Moralia, 191 E (2), supra, where the saying is attributed to the younger Agis.)

Being asked what form of instruction was most in vogue in Sparta, he said, Knowledge of how to rule and to be ruled. [*](Cf. the note on 212 C (51), supra. )