Apophthegmata Laconica

Xerxes wrote to him, It is possible for you, by not fighting against God but by ranging yourself on my side, to be the sole ruler of Greece. But he wrote in reply, If you had any knowledge of the noble things of life, you would refrain from coveting others’ possessions; but for me to die for Greece is better than to be the sole ruler over the people of my race.

When Xerxes wrote again, Hand over your arms, he wrote in reply, Come and take them.

He wished to engage the enemy at once, but the other commanders, in answer to his proposal, said that he must wait for the rest of the allies. Why, said he, are not all present who intend to fight? [*](Cf.Moralia, 185 F, supra. ) Or do you not realize that the only men who fight against the enemy are those who respect and revere their kings?

He bade his soldiers eat their breakfast as if they were to eat their dinner in the other world. [*](Cf. Cicero, Tusculan Disputations, i. 42 (101); Valerius Maximus, iii. 2, ext. 3.)