Apophthegmata Laconica

Plutarch

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

Alcamenes, the son of Teleclus, when somebody inquired how a man could best keep a kingdom secure, said, If he should not hold his own advantage too high.

When another person sought to know the reason why he did not accept gifts from the Messenians, he said, Because if I took the gifts, it would be impossible to maintain peace with impartial regard for the laws.